Nigerian officials say 103 2020 protesters would be buried;
campaigners have accused the government of covering up the deaths.
Officials in Nigeria claim that 103 bodies from the 2020 protests would be buried; activists claim there has been a cover-up. In October 2020, thousands of Nigerians protested the actions of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit that has since been abolished and is accused of using excessive force.
ABUJA: Authorities announced that more than 100 individuals who died in Nigeria in 2020 amid demonstrations against police brutality will soon be buried. This prompted activists’ claims of a cover-up and demands for a new investigation on Monday.
Following the demonstrations and associated fights, at least 103 bodies were gathered from throughout the state, according to a statement made by Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, the top official in Lagos State’s Ministry of health, after local media reported on a leaked memo about the intended burial.
Ogboye claimed that rather than at a demonstration location at the Lekki toll gate, where soldiers are alleged to have shot protestors, the fatalities took place during violence in several other areas of the state.
Amnesty International’s Nigeria office urged a new investigation into the killings and cited the new information about the deaths as evidence that the West African country’s government are still hiding the exact number of casualties from the protest and are still shielding security personnel who killed protestors.
Protesters were attacked, hurt, and occasionally killed by men who were either directly or indirectly linked with the administration or who were sponsored thugs.Isa Sanusi, the organization’s Nigeria director, told The Associated Press that you can see the government occasionally moving the goalposts, which betrays a lack of honesty.
In October 2020, thousands of Nigerians protested the actions of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a unit that has since been abolished and is accused of using excessive force.
Security personnel opened fire at the Lekki Toll Gate protest location in Lagos, the epicentre of the #EndSARS movement protests. This sparked outrage around the world, and an inquiry later revealed that scores had been shot at despite initial denials from the authorities.
Many Nigerians and several campaigners questioned the Lagos government’s choice to keep the planned burial a secret until it became public, but officials insisted there was no cover-up.
It culminated on October 20 when army personnel came at the Lekki toll gate protest location and opened fire on youngsters carrying just the Nigerian flag as they chanted the national song. The 2020 protest, which was primarily comprised of young people, lasted about two weeks.
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