Amnesty International has called on the Lagos State Government to suspend the scheduled mass burial of 103 EndSARS victims, demanding a comprehensive investigation and transparency in the process.
The victims, whose identities have not been revealed by the government, are said to be from a different location within the state and not related to the controversial Lekki Tollgate shooting.
Amnesty’s director of information, Isa Sanusi, expressed deep concern over the lack of transparency surrounding the 103 victims who have been held in the government’s custody since October 2020. He strongly urged for an independent investigation into the killings and insisted that autopsies be conducted on the victims’ corpses.
In a statement, Sanusi called for fair trials to be carried out for those suspected to be responsible for the deaths of the EndSARS victims. The international human rights organisation emphasised that justice must prevail to bring closure to the affected families and the nation at large.
The Nigerian authorities must urgently halt their plans to carry out a secret mass burial of #EndSARS victims and instead carry out a thorough and independent investigation into the killings and ensure that those suspected to be responsible are brought to justice in fair trials,” Sanusi asserted.
The EndSARS movement, which swept across Nigeria in 2020, brought attention to police brutality and demanded justice for the victims. While the protests resulted in significant changes and conversations regarding police reform, the issue of accountability for the victims’ deaths remains unresolved.