The US Government, as well as several human rights groups, including Amnesty International and the UN, have called on the Federal Government on Tuesday to take action following the recent report on the Lekki toll massacre.
According to the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other concerns, the incident has claimed the lives of at least nine people and wounded 39 others on October 20, 2020. The panel, chaired by Justice Doris Okuwobi, recommended that tollgate troops (excluding Major General Omata) should be disciplined, stripped of their ranks, and removed from any public or security service of the country. They also recommended that Divisional Police officers and cops deployed from Maroko Police Station on October 20 and 21, 2020, be charged for killing demonstrators without cause.
The US Mission in Nigeria accepted the panel’s final report, saying it awaits responses from the Federal and Lagos State governments. In a statement by Oluseyi Soremekun, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Nigeria, Edward Kallon, commended the panel’s findings, saying that submitting the judicial panel’s conclusions will speed up the justice and accountability process.
“I urge the government to implement the recommendations of the judicial panel of inquiry to rebuild trust and start the process of healing and reconciliation,” the statement read.
Amnesty International also commended the findings and demanded that those charged be brought to justice.
The Army and the Federal Government have declined to comment on the report.
Ada Peter
