#EndSARS: Lagos govt says mass burial not for victims of Lekki toll gate shooting

The Babjide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos state government has spoken on recent reports suggesting that the government is planning to conduct a mass burial for 103 victims of the Lekki tollgate shootings.

Recall that in a leaked memo, the Lagos state government approved about N61 million for the mass burial of victims of the #EndSARS protest.

The leaked memo reawakened the pains experienced by Nigerians in the heat aftermath of the Lekki tollgate shootings where men of the Nigerian army opened fire on peaceful protesters. However, the Nigerian government at the time denied shooting at protesters despite video evidence.

Reacting to the leaked memo, the Mr Sanwo-Olu government claimed that crises were recorded at different parts of the state and not at the Lekki tollgate as most of the report suggested.

“It is public knowledge that the year 2020 #EndSARS crisis that snowballed into violence in many parts of Lagos recorded casualties in different areas of the State and NOT from the Lekki Toll Gate as inferred in the mischievous publications,” the report read.

“For the records, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos State, including a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison. The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and NOT from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, no body was retrieved from the Lekki Toll Gate incident,” it added.

Explaining the reason for its decision to embark on a mass burial, the Mr Sanwo-Olu government claimed that it took the decision to decongest the morgue that was filled with unclaimed bodies.

“However, after almost three years, the bodies remain unclaimed, adding to the congestion of the morgues. This spurred the need to decongest the morgues – a procedure that follows very careful medical and legal guidelines in the event that a relative may still turn up to claim a lost relative years after the incident. Decongestion of our public morgues is a periodic and regular exercise approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to free up space in mortuaries that have a large number of unclaimed bodies.”