Stop Planned Burial for #EndSARS Victims, Amnesty Urges Lagos Govt

Amnesty International has asked the Lagos State Government to stop the planned mass burial of 103 #EndSARS victims.

The appeal came following the state government’s response to a leaked memo addressed to the state Ministry of Health by the state’s procurement agency.

Lagos State Government, however, confirmed the leaked memo, but said the victims to be buried were not from the controversial Lekki Tollgate shooting.

Reacting, Amnesty’s Director of Information, Isa Sanusi, demanded in a statement on Monday, an independent investigation into the matter, adding that an autopsy be done on the victim’s corpses.

He also asked that the identities of those to be buried be revealed.

The statement partly read: “The Nigerian authorities must urgently halt their plans to carry out a secret mass burial of #EndSARS victims and instead carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the killings and ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice in fair trials.

“They must also carry out transparent coroner inquests and autopsies on the 103 #EndSARS victims and publish their identities and the circumstances of their deaths.

“It is appalling that the Lagos state government has not even mentioned that it has held the bodies of 103 #EndSARS victims in its custody since October 2020.”

Sanusi further said that all those detained because of their role in the #EndSARS protests must be released immediately.

“The Nigerian authorities must also ensure that victims and their families are provided with access to justice and effective remedies, including adequate compensation,” he said.