EndSARS Protest: ECOWAS Court finds FG guilty of human rights violations

The Court of Justice of the Economic Community of West African States(ECOWAS) has found the Federal Government guilty of violating the fundamental human rights of youths that participated in the October 2020, EndSARS protest. A three-man panel of Justices, had in a unanimous decision, held that there was merit in a suit brought before it by three participants in the protest – Obianuju Catherine Udeh, Perpetual Kamsi and Dabiraoluwa Adeyinka. Specifically, the court held that the Federal Republic of Nigeria, through its security agencies, violated Articles 1, 4, 6, 9, 10, and 11 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, ACPHR, pertaining to the right to life, security of person, freedom of expression, assembly and association, prohibition of torture, duty of the state to investigate, and the right to effective remedy. The Applicants had, in their suit, alleged that these violations occurred during peaceful protests they held at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State on October 20 and 21, 2020. In the judgement delivered by the lead Judge Rapporteur, Justice Koroma Mohamed Sengu, the regional court dismissed the Applicants’ allegation that their right to life as guaranteed under Article 4 of the ACPHR, was violated. However, it ordered FG to pay each of the Applicants the sum of N2million as compensation for violations of their security of person, prohibition of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association, duty to investigate human rights violations, and right to effective remedy. Additionally, it held that FG must adhere to its obligations under the ACPHR by investigating and prosecuting its agents responsible for the violations. The court ordered FG to, within the next six months, report to it, measures it has taken to implement the judgment. The Applicants had alleged that during the peaceful protests against the SARS Unit of the Nigerian Police Force at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos State, on October 20 and 21, 2020, the Respondent, committed several human rights violations. Triggered by the alleged killing of one Daniel Chibuike, the protests were aimed to address police harassment and brutality. In the suit, the 1st Applicant, among other things, told the court that soldiers shot life ammunitions at protesters, resulting in deaths and injuries, which she live-streamed. She told the court that subsequently, she started receiving threatening phone calls that forced her not only to go into hiding but also to seek asylum. Likewise, the 2nd Applicant, who said she was responsible for the welfare of the protesters, described how soldiers began shooting after a power cut, leading to her hospitalisation due to excessive tear gas she inhaled. On her part, the 3rd Applicant narrated how she narrowly escaped being shot and how soldiers refused to allow an ambulance to enter the protest ground to help the injured participants. She further told the court that she later witnessed how the victims were neglected without the provision of adequate healthcare for them at the hospital. She further submitted that with the help of her colleagues, she eventually took over and started taking care of the victims. She alleged that she faced numerous threats and was placed on surveillance by security agents. Consequently, all the Applicants prayed the court to issue declaratory reliefs against FG and award compensation to them for the gross violations of their fundamental human rights. Meanwhile, in processes it filed before the court, FG, through its team of lawyers, denied all the allegations and claims that were made up by the Applicants. It told the court that the protesters unlawfully assembled at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, under the guise of protesting against SARS. FG also maintained that its agents followed strict rules of engagement and did not shoot or kill protesters. It argued that the 1st Applicant incited the crowd by playing music and using her Instagram page to stir disaffection against law enforcement agents who were targeting escapee members of Boko Haram and bandits. FG further contended that the 2nd Applicant’s provision of logistics and welfare packages indicated her support for the violent protest. It claimed that soldiers were present to restore peace until the police arrived, denying any harm inflicted on protesters and the alleged refusal to access the ambulance. More so, FG denied that the 3rd Applicant’s presence was peaceful, asserting it was meant to escalate violence. It argued that the treatment and care of the injured were managed by the Lagos State government, insisting that the Applicants failed to provide credible evidence to support their claims and the reliefs they sought from the court. In its judgment on Wednesday, the court held that it could not establish that there was a violation of the right to life as the Applicants failed to adduce any evidence to that effect. Nevertheless, it held that several articles of the ACHPR were breached by the Respondent (FG), which occasioned fundamental breaches of human rights. Furthermore, the Court said it was satisfied that the Applicants were denied the right to an effective remedy. It ordered FG to make reparations to the Applicants for the violation of their fundamental human rights. Other members of the panel that concurred with the lead judgement were Justice Dupe Atoki, who presided, and Justice Ricardo Claúdio Monteiro Gonçalves

Fresh EndSARS Protest Erupts In Delta

Youths in Delta state have taken to the streets, protesting escalating police brutality and extortion. Viral videos depict demonstrators holding placards with the inscription “ENDSARS NOW,” urging the Nigeria Police Force to address the alleged misconduct. A social media user, X, shared the videos, asserting a surge in police brutality within the state.  The spokesperson for the Delta Police Command, DSP Bright Edafe, responded, stating that the protest stemmed from the arrest of four individuals who couldn’t prove ownership of an unregistered car. According to Edafe, during the arrest, some youths attacked the officers, causing injuries and damaging a police patrol vehicle.  He emphasized that the police would not be deterred by protests and urged the public to remain calm. In his statement, Edafe mentioned, “Nine of the suspects were arrested and will be charged to court. Youths are advised to stay off any protest because it won’t deter us from doing our job.” This incident echoes the 2020 #EndSars protests that swept through Nigeria, prompting the government to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars) and establish judicial panels to investigate allegations of police abuse.

#EndSARS: Lagos Govt dismisses allegations of mass burial

The Lagos State Government has dismissed allegations that it held a mass burial for 103 victims of the Lekki Tollgate #EndSARS protest. This is contained in a statement issued by Dr Olusegun Ogboye, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Health in Lagos at the weekend. Ogbonge said that peddlers of the news were deliberately misinterpreting and sensationalizing a letter from the Lagos State Government Public Procurement Agency (PPA), to misinform the public, stir public sentiment and cause public disaffection against the Lagos State Government. He said that the title of the letter was: Letter of No Objection – Mass Burial for the 103, the Year 2020 EndSARS victims. According to him, while the government will not have dignified the mischievous elements peddling such news with a response, it consider it appropriate to set the records straight. He said that there was the need to draw the attention of well-meaning citizens to the antics of some unscrupulous elements who are hell bent on disrupting the peace and tranquility of Lagos with distorted news and half-truth about the PPA letter. ”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 being inferred in the mischievous publications. ”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, nobody was retrieved from the Lekki Toll Gate incident. ”In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the office of the Chief Coroner invited members of the public, through public adverts and announcement, who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between Oct. 19 and Oct. 27, 2020 from various clashes as mentioned above, to contact the department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to help with identification of these casualties deposited in state-owned morgues. ”Relatives are to undergo DNA tests for identification purposes. It is important to state categorically that nobody responded to claim any of the bodies. ”However, after almost three years, the bodies remained 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,” Ogboye said. He said that decongestion of the public morgues was a periodic and regular exercise approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, to free up space in mortuaries that have a large number of unclaimed bodies.