Osai Ojigho, Country Director, Amnesty International, Nigeria, has expressed misgivings over the Federal Government’s reaction to the Lagos EndSARS probe panel report, saying they were not surprised by government’s denial of ‘Lekki Tollgate incident’.
The body urged the Federal Government to verify the evidence provided by the report, faulting the manner government was dismissing it.
Amnesty International also called for investigation into the entire #EndSARS protests across the country, and not the Lekki Tollgate incident alone.
Ojigho spoke in an interview on Politics Today, a Channels TV programme on Tuesday.
Recall that the Federal Government had said the report presented by Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to Investigate Cases Of Police Brutality and the Incident of October 20, 2020 at Lekki Tollgate was incorrect.
In fact, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has insisted that there was no massacre at Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020.
According to Ojigho, “I think the first thing is for us to establish the fact that there are different layers of government.
“So what has been presented to the Lagos State Government, as we all know, is easy for the governments to communicate with themselves across board.
“I think the minister, with his position in government, should liaise with the state authorities to clarify or check information with regards to the panel’s work.
“That would have been an ideal step; and to allow the state government to carry out its task in this regard.
“It is not surprising for us at Amnesty International that the minister, Lai Mohammed, continues to deny that unfortunate incident that happened on October 20, 2020, at the Lekki Tollgate.
“We have seen in the last one year the constant attacks, the constant narrative that is geared toward gas-lighting the victims, survivors and witnesses, and create an impression that people are just up to no good.”
