#LekkiMassacre: Two Years On, Government Yet To Fully Implement Reports Of Judicial Panel

On this day two years ago, Nigerians gathered in large numbers in major cities across the country to protest police brutality in their security units.

Many did not return home and those who did sustained injuries and ended up being traumatized; injuries and trauma that continue to haunt them.

Young Nigerians led the #EndSARS protest in various parts of the country in response to ongoing cases of police brutality.

It was the culmination of years of bottled-up rage against the police unit most notorious for the inhumane treatment and blatant violations of citizens' rights.

The ENDSARS slogan called for the abolition of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit of the Nigerian Police with a long history of abusing Nigerian citizens.

The protest was named after the hashtag #EndSARS, which was used in a Twitter campaign in 2017 to demand that the Nigerian government disband the unit.

On Twitter alone, approximately 28 million tweets with the hashtag were accumulated.

On October 8, 2020, a nationwide protest began across the country.

As reported in Abuja and Osun, the Nigeria Police Force disrupted protests in some cities by throwing tear gas, using water cannons, and shooting at unarmed peaceful protesters.

Many protesters and bystanders were killed as a result of the police's actions.

The Lekki Massacre

Following a violent escalation that included agitators attacking both protesters and police, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared a state-wide 24-hour curfew effective 4:00 PM WAT on October 20.

During this time, images circulated on End SARS on Twitter of some individuals alleged to be working with the Lagos State Government and the Lekki Concession Company removing cameras (later confirmed by the Lagos State Government to be laser cameras and not CCTV cameras as previously publicized on social media at the toll gate) and street lights in the vicinity of the toll gate.

During an interview with Arise TV, Sanwo-Olu revealed that the Nigerian Army only removed the laser camera and not the Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) camera during the attack on #ENDSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate.

A few hours later, it was reported that armed Nigerian Army personnel arrived at the protest site and opened fire on peaceful and unarmed protesters, resulting in a disputed number of deaths.

A video of the shooting, shot by a brave Nigerian youth named DJ Switch, went viral on the Internet, showing live rounds of bullets being fired at innocent protesters who were huddled on the ground, holding hands and singing the Nigerian National Anthem.

Authorities did not deny a crackdown, but they did not claim the reported deaths. According to reports, at least 50 other people were injured.

According to Amnesty International, 12 people were killed in the Lekki shooting.

However, the Lagos State government later reported that the shooting left up to 25 people injured and only two people dead.

This came after they had previously stated that no one had died as a result of the Lekki shooting.

Despite the fact that the curfew had been extended until 9:00 p.m., Nigerian Army soldiers began shooting before 7:00 p.m.

Speaking to Arise TV about the shooting, Sanwo-Olu stated that he was unaware of military protocols and how they emerge from their chain of command.

He also stated that the army does not report to him and that the incident would be reported to the military's highest command.

He, however, stated that the state would investigate the incident and urged residents who have factual evidence of additional deaths from the Lekki shooting to submit it to a panel of inquiry he plans to establish on the shootings.

Judicial Panel of Inquiry

The National Economic Council (NEC) announced in November 2020 that each state and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja should set up a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate cases of police brutality against protesters and compensate victims, as well as human rights violations.

To address the complaints of victims, the federal and state governments established panels of inquiry, popularly known as #EndSARS panels in honour of the #EndSARS protest that led to their formation.

The panels in the 29 states and Abuja had received 2,791 police brutality petitions as of August 2021.

Citizens in the other 29 states and the FCT flooded the panels with complaints against the police, alleging extrajudicial killing, unlawful arrest and detention, cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment and torture, enforced disappearance, and illegal confiscation of property, among other things.

Justice not fully served

Despite the fact that the government disbanded SARS in response to protesters' demands and promised extensive police reform, this has yet to be seen.

On November 15, 2021, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) established to investigate the Lekki shooting issued its report.

The report's key findings revealed that there were 48 casualties from the shooting incident, with nine people killed, four presumed dead, and 24 injured.

The #EndSARS judicial panel also determined that the Lekki Tollgate incident was a massacre, that the army shot at protesters on October 20, 2020, and that the police also shot at protesters that night.

The perpetrators attempted to cover up and clean up the scene. It was also discovered that the governor of Lagos State had invited the army to the protest site at the tollgate.

And that the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) withheld and tampered with relevant evidence from the scene of the incident.

The panel also made recommendations such as holistic police reforms that address welfare, training, and proper equipping of police officers as well as their working environment, as well as sanctioning officers from the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force who were involved in the shooting, injuring, and killing of unarmed protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate.

Others include the development of a more robust engagement between youth and government.

Establishment of a Standing Committee/Tribunal to deal with cases of Human Rights Violations by Security Agencies, as well as a trust fund to settle compensation awarded by such committee and tribunal, as well as a public apology to #EndSARS protesters who were killed, injured, and traumatized by the incident.

Following a meeting in October 2021, the NEC directed state governments to compensate victims of police brutality across the country.

However, a year after the National Economic Council, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, directed states to compensate victims of police brutality in the country, and two years after the deadly protests, many states had yet to implement the panel's recommendations, including compensation for victims of the violence.

Only Lagos, Osun, Ekiti, and the Federal Capital Territory have followed the resolution of the NEC even though some of the panels of inquiry got hampered by a lack of funding.

21 panels had submitted reports as of November 2021, but the momentum for justice has since waned. The FCT Panel, however, submitted its report on Sept. 2022.

To date, only the Lagos state report is publicly accessible, and it is unclear what, if anything, has been implemented in its recommendations.

Many victims of police brutality continue to suffer in silence, with no hope of justice while others are still being brutalized and grossly violated.

Amnesty International recently reported that 40 Nigerians who took part in the #EndSARS protests on October 20, 2020, are still being held in detention two years later, despite the fact that several lives were lost and property damaged.

The group, which released the names of the detainees to mark the second anniversary of the rallies, revealed that the protesters were being held without trial at Agodi Correctional Centre in Oyo State and Kirikiri Medium Security Prison in Lagos.

Despite allegedly being in poor health, they are still being held without trial in these Correctional Facilities; an act which not only violates their rights but also the Constitution.

Several Officials, organizations and human rights activists have called for the implementation of the reports and recommendations submitted by the panel of inquiries.

Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer and activist, chastised the government for failing to take adequate action in response to the #EndSARS reports, noting that no police officers had been punished either.

"The federal and state governments are irresponsible; in most of the states, the #EndSARS report was not implemented, and some states didn’t even come up with any report."

Since the unit's inception in 1992, no one knows how many people have been violated or brutalized by SARS officers.

Despite numerous promises of reform, there is no real data on how many officers have been indicted and punished for their crimes.

SARS was disbanded early in the protests, appearing to be a quick and easy victory.

However, it was replaced by the Special Weapons and Tactics Team, to which SARS officers were invited to apply, a rebranding that clearly failed to address the underlying issue.

The Police Minister, Mohammed Maigari Dingyadi promised new equipment but little has been said about increasing accountability and stopping abuse.

Also, the police have been more open about firing erring officers.

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has also expressed concern about the state government's refusal to compensate victims of police brutality.

In an interview with PUNCH, Tony Ojukwu (SAN), Executive Secretary of the NHRC, advised the states to work with the Federal Government to resolve the issue.

In response to the report of the #EndSARS panel, he stated, "Every state is on its own, and every state governor has the mandate to dictate what happens in their state. 

"Why aren't they compensating them? What is the point of waiting for the federal government?"

These and other questions beg for answers, just as victims of police brutality across the country who have not received justice beg for restitution.

Many people are left to rely on God for assistance after their government has failed them.