The Lagos State Government has come under heavy criticism over its plan for a mass burial for 103 victims of #EndSARS protest.
On Sunday, a letter indicating that state approved the sum of N61,285,000 for the mass burial people who died during the 2020 #EndSARS protests went viral on social media.
The details of the contract approval were contained in a letter of no objection signed by Onafowote Idowu, director-general of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency.
Following the leak document, many Nigerians on social media attacked the state government for denying killings of innocent Nigerians in 2020.
But Olusegun Ogboye, permanent secretary of Lagos ministry of health claimed that the corpses were retrieved from many parts of the state, including Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah.
The state government added that one of the cases of violent attacks that happened during the #EndSARS protest was the jailbreak at Ikoyi prison.
“For the records, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos state,” the statement reads.
#EndSARS protests
The #EndSARS protests were triggered by grievances arising from years of harassment and rights violations by operatives of the police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
For weeks in Oct. 2020, many Nigerian youths took to the streets to protest extra-judicial killings and other irregularities by the police unit. The protests led to the disbandment of the police tactical squad.
In a desperate move to quell the demonstrations, which had continued despite the proscription of SARS, soldiers were deployed to the epicentre of the nationwide protests at Lekki Tollgate on Oct. 20, 2020. .
They shot at protesters and killed a yet-to-be ascertained number. The demonstration was later hijacked by hoodlums who looted stores, homes, warehouses, as well as private and public properties in different parts of the country.
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Many people including police officers were killed. Some sustained gunshot injuries and innocent Nigerians were arrested randomly.
The victims, survivors
Otu Charles, a 64-year-old Ghanaian was killed on Oct. 22, 2020. He was returning from work at Sawmill, along Agege, Lagos, when he was shot dead.
Earlier that day, facilities belonging to the Nigeria Police in Ojodu Berger area of the state, were razed during an attack by a group of hoodlums.
By evening, the destruction had led to a bloody confrontation between some police officers and hoodlums in the area. Immediately Otu alighted at Akinyode bus-stop, he heard sporadic gunshots.
Two months after Otu died, his family members were ejected from their residence in Akinyode following failure to meet up with their rent.
Theophilus Ivwrogbo used to work as a truck driver at China Civil Engineering Construction Corporation (CCECC) in Apapa, Lagos. Following the announcement of curfew by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Oct. 20, 2020, all staff of the company were asked to go home.
As he lives in Epe, Theophilus would have to pass through the Lekki tollgate before getting to his house. He got to the tollgate at a time when soldiers already took over the event of the day. Like many others, Theophilus woke up at the hospital the next day after sustaining a gunshot injury.
Another victim, Nicholas Anthony, was one of those picking litters at the tollgate throughout the period of the demonstration. He said he has on several occasions been a victim of police brutality as a driver in Lagos.
In solidarity with other youths, he abandoned his job to join the protests. Unfortunately, Nicholas was hit by a bullet on his chest when soldiers stormed the tollgate.
#EndsSARS panels
After scrapping SARS, the federal government promised extensive police reforms, which many Nigerians believed it has yet to fulfill.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) headed by ex-Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, with governors of the 36 states of the federation as well as some top federal government officials as members, also passed a resolution for the setting up of the panels of enquiry and recommended that state governments should set aside about N200 million as compensation for victims.
The panels were set up in 29 states and Abuja to investigate complaints regarding police brutality, recommend sanctions against erring officers, and award compensations to complainants in deserving situations to assuage their pains.
Meanwhile, nine states did not set up the panel: Kano, Jigawa, Kebbi, Sokoto, Zamfara, Borno, and Yobe.
