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… At 6:29 pm local time in Lagos, two military vehicles were filmed leaving Bonny Camp
… Subsequent images showed four vehicles with flash lights in a convoy, and they appeared to be vehicles used by the Nigerian army and police.
… The same vehicles are heading east on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, in the direction of the Lekki toll gate.
… Vehicles arriving at the tollbooth
… At night, “soldiers” descended on the protesters, while the protesters continued to film and share videos of the shootings.
… Later in the evening, videos of the victims were shared on social media – AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL
… Intersociety, other CSOs praise Amnesty
… Social media was used to incite violence during the #EndSARS – NSA protests
By Anayo Okoli and Luminous Jannamike
The global rights watchdog Amnesty International yesterday called on the federal government not to cover up the shooting at the Lekki toll gate during the #EndSARS protests, but to bring those involved to justice.
The group said their call was made necessary because the government had the ability to sweep incidents of such magnitude under the rug, citing the killings of hundreds of Shiites who were killed in Zaria, Kaduna state, in 2016, insisting that soldiers they shot at protesters. .
Indeed, Amnesty International alleged yesterday that the federal government was doing its best to cover up the shooting of #EndSARS protesters in Lekki.
However, both the Army and the Nigerian Defense Headquarters yesterday refused to react, as several calls made to the mobile phones of their spokesmen did not receive a response.
Text messages also sent to their phones were not answered.
At best, the Army Headquarters in Abuja later told Vanguard that the Army’s 81st Division had already reacted on their behalf.
The Division had said in a statement Tuesday night that, although they were invited by the Lagos state government after the Lekki shooting, their men were not involved in the shooting.
Similarly, the president’s chief special assistant for media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, was silent when contacted.
Lagos state government officials were also silent, as efforts to get them to react at press time were unsuccessful.
Several phone calls and SMS sent to the Information and Strategy Commissioner, Mr. Gbenga Omotoso, were not answered because his line was busy.
However, in its latest report published yesterday, the rights group released details of the chronology of events since the protests began on October 20, 2020.
Denials, cover-ups
The group in a statement signed by Country Director Osai Ojigho said: “What happened at Lekki Toll Gate has all the traces of the Nigerian authorities’ pattern of cover-up whenever their defense and security forces commit illegal killings.
“Initial denials of soldiers’ participation in the shooting were followed by shameful denial of loss of life as a result of the military attack on the protests,” he said.
“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.”
“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.”
Monitoring of military movements
The group also said it tracked the movements of the military before the incident, saying: “Amnesty International’s crisis response experts investigated and verified videos and photos from social media confirming that Nigerian security forces were present at the tollbooth. from Lekki when the shooting occurred.
“At 6:29 pm local time in Lagos, two military vehicles leaving Bonny Camp were filmed in videos shared on social media.
“Subsequent images showed four vehicles with flashing lights in a convoy, and they appeared to be vehicles used by the Nigerian army and police.
“The same vehicles headed east on Ozumba Mbadiwe Avenue, which changed its name to Lekki-Epe Expressway, in the direction of the Lekki toll gate.
“On this route, the vehicles passed several international embassies and consulates, including the Japanese Embassy and the Australian High Commission.
“Other photographs and footage captured the vehicles arriving at the tollbooth, before men dressed in military uniforms interrupted the peaceful protest and shots were heard.
“At night, the soldiers pounced on the protesters, while the protesters continued to film and share videos of the shooting. Later in the evening, videos of the victims were also shared on social media. “
Protests against police brutality
Nigerians had 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.
According to Amnesty International, at least 56 people have died in the country since the protests began.
In multiple cases, he added that security forces used excessive force in an attempt to control or stop the protests, noting that according to his investigations, the protests had been peaceful until force was used.
Intersociety, other CSOs praise Amnesty
In response to yesterday’s Amnesty report, the human rights group Intersociety in a statement signed by its president, Emeka Umeagbalasi, said: “We at Intersociety are proud of Amnesty International because of its enormous integrity and uncompromising stance on truth and truth. coherence.
“Your latest statement on the Lekki Tollgate massacre has said it all. Despite being caught on the spot and despite the overwhelming evidence linking him to the Lekki shooting, the government not only denies, but also imposes monetary penalties on the electronic media that covered and broadcast the carnage.
“They are also threatening those who spoke out and took videos and pictorial evidence. Neither the government nor the country’s security forces have accepted responsibility and have led the perpetrators to properly register and take victims of similar murders in the country.
Other civil society organizations, CSOS, have also praised Amnesty International for compiling and publishing a timeline on what many have called “Black Tuesday”.
CSOs, which were part of the #EndSARS movement, made the eulogy in separate telephone interviews with Vanguard in Abuja last night.
They said the report was good to the extent that it left room for an answer to the initial question of who ordered to shoot peaceful protesters on the penultimate Tuesday of Lekki Tollgate.
“Amnesty International is not given to sensationalism. The report is quite nice and detailed. It serves to support the testimonies of eyewitnesses on the ground when the shooting occurred, ”said Ariyo Atoye, convenor of the Nigerian Coalition in Defense of Democracy and Constitution.
Similarly, Inibehe Effiong, the legal adviser to the #RevolutionNow Movement, also praised Amnesty International for the report, saying it has provided a strong foundation for people to hold government and military authorities accountable for the many lives they take. they were lost during the # EndSARS protests.
Therefore, he encouraged the people of Lagos State to continue demanding justice for the Lekki shooting.
He expressed optimism that in due course, the will and aspirations of a greater percentage of the people than those who participated in the shooting would be taken to reserve.
“The Nigerian army has a predilection for covering up evidence of similar killings as in the case of the Shiites and the IPOB. But AI’s report has provided a solid foundation for all those involved in these types of senseless killings to be identified and punished.
“We hope that the outcome of the investigation panel created to investigate the shooting will reflect the will and aspirations of a greater percentage of the people,” he said.
In addition, the coordinator of the Center for Freedom, Raphael Adebayo, said that the chronological report has also cleared up confusion about the position of the army authorities on the shootings.
Now, with AI’s report, resilient young people who strove to demand an end to police brutality can find closure knowing that the injustice against them would not be hidden under the rug. That is why the civil society coalition is demanding an independent investigative panel into the Lekki shooting.
“We can see that the army authorities have changed positions on more than one occasion since the ‘Black Tuesday’ shooting,” he said.
It will be recalled that the Army, in a statement, has denied having fired at the protesters, noting that the state government invited the Army to help restore order after the chaos.
Vanguard
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