[ad_1]
Nigerian authorities “must stop their attempts to cover up the Lekki Toll Gate massacre,” Amnesty International said, when it published a new timeline investigating the atrocity a week later.
The timeline, available here, collects photographs and video footage to confirm that the Nigerian army vehicles left Bonny Camp, a military base approximately a seven-minute drive from the toll gate, at 6.29 p.m. local time on 20 October.
The footage then follows the vehicles to the toll gate. At approximately 6.45pm, the Nigerian army opened fire on #EndSars protesters who were peacefully calling for an end to police brutality.
“What happened at Lekki Toll Gate has all the traces of the Nigerian authorities’ pattern of cover-up every time their security and defense forces commit unlawful killings,” said Osai Ojigho, Country Director at Amnesty International.
“A week later, the Nigerian authorities still have many questions to answer: who ordered the use of deadly force against peaceful protesters? Why were the CCTV cameras at the site dismantled in advance? And who ordered the power cut minutes before the military opened fire on the protesters?
Initial denials of soldiers’ involvement in the shooting were followed by shameful denial of loss of life as a result of the military attack on the protests.
“Many people are still missing since the day of the incident and there is credible evidence that the military prevented ambulances from reaching the seriously injured.”
Amnesty International is again calling on the Nigerian authorities to bring those responsible for the shootings to justice and protect those who exercise their right to freedom of assembly. The organization is still investigating the shooting and the removal of the bodies of those killed by the military in an attempt to remove the evidence.
Monitoring of military movements
Amnesty International crisis response experts investigated and verified videos and photos from social media confirming that Nigerian security forces were present at the Lekki toll gate when the shooting occurred.
At 6.29pm local time in Lagos, two military vehicles were filmed leaving Bonny Camp in videos shared on social media. Later images show four vehicles with flashing lights in a convoy, and they appear to be vehicles used by the Nigerian army and police.
The same vehicles are heading east on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, which changes its name to the Lekki-Epe Expressway, in the direction of the Lekki toll gate. On this route, vehicles pass various international embassies and consulates, including the Embassy of Japan and the High Commission of Australia.
More photographs and footage capture the vehicles arriving at the toll gate, before men in military uniforms interrupt the peaceful protest and shots are heard. As night fell, protesters continued filming and sharing videos of the shootings. Later in the evening, videos of the victims were also shared on social media.
Background
Amnesty International has been closely monitoring developments in Nigeria since the #EndSars protest began on 8 October 2020.
Nigerians have taken to the streets to peacefully demand an end to police brutality, extrajudicial killings and extortion by the Special Anti-Theft Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian police charged with combating violent crime.
At least 56 people have died across the country since the protests began. In multiple cases, security forces have used excessive force in an attempt to control or stop protests.
