A group called the ’fatherland’ has issued a statement concerning the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza who garnered to call for the End of Brutality and excesses of the recently disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF)
The U.K based group (FATHERLAND) also called for the removal from office of the Inspector General Of Police, (IGP) Mohammed Adamu over his Inactiveness on the situation hovering around the Nation.
According to the Group the IGP’s removal is to be taken as a necessary first step in rebuilding public confidence in Nigeria police force.
At least 10 protesters were killed by Men in the Nigerian military uniforms at the Lekki plaza on October 20, according to Amnesty International.
The Nigerian Army, However, denied it’s involvement in the shooting of unarmed protesters. They tagged every news article which issued a publication about the killings of the youths at the Toll Plaza as “Fake News”
The Lagos Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, also denied his government involvement stating that its state has no authority over the national army.
Few days After, The Nigeria’s army admitted its soldiers were deployed to restore order by the Lagos state Government, but denied they opened fire on the gathered crowd protesting against police brutality.
Reacting to the contradiction and the unending loopholes found in every statement by the Nigerian Army and the Lagos state Government the Group (Fatherland) issued a statement which reads below;
The Group Is Appalled by the use of lethal force by the Nigerian Army against peaceful protesters at Lekki Toll Gate on Tuesday 20 October, 2020. The massacre of young Nigerians carrying the Nigerian flag and singing the National Anthem was a shameful act of State mass murder.
The group alleged that; what happened at Lekki Tollgate on 20 October 2020 was a massacre given that a ‘massacre’ is defined as “the unnecessary, indiscriminate killing of a large number of human beings”. Amnesty International has confirmed that at least 12 people were killed in the incident and other reports have suggested that the figure was many times that number. The killings were “indiscriminate” as the lights on Lekki Tollgate had been extinguished ahead of the killings so that the army were shooting blind.
The group Finds disturbing the failure of the various arms of the government to take responsibility for the massacre of the young Nigerians by their own army on their own soil. The claim by the Army that no soldiers were involved in the massacre is embarrassing and breath-taking in its sheer recklessness.
They also stated that General Buratai should explain the precise nature of the “efforts” which he admits his forces took “to ensure compliance with the curfew imposed by legitimate civil authorities in Lagos”. The least that citizens are entitled to from those exercising coercive powers over them is a modicum of accountability.
The group Noted that it Is Troubled by the revelation that police assigned to Lagos State had been deployed to duties in other States, such that while the army were deployed to use maximum and deadly force against peaceful protesters, no police were available to arrest those who, under cover of the protests, had been organized to destroy and set fire to valuable assets and buildings in the state. In The circumstances where Lagos had been singled out as the epicenter of the protests so as to justify the deployment of the army to enforce a curfew in the State, the Inspector General of Police should explain the decision to deploy police assigned to Lagos to duties in other states, leaving the commercial capital of the country unprotected.
The Group Finds Sinister the decision, taken at 10.30am, to declare a curfew to begin at 4.00pm the same day, only for the beginning of the curfew to then be pushed back to 9pm and yet for General Buratai’s soldiers’ “efforts to enforce the curfew” to begin before the new commencement time. In the circumstances where the traffic situation in Lagos is legendary, Governor Sanwo-Olu should explain his reasons for initially setting the curfew time to begin at the unrealistic hour of 4pm. He should also explain when, how and to whom within the Armed forces, he communicated the revised 9pm commencement time leading to his comment that “the security operatives were not meant to be there until 10 to 11pm”.
The Group Finds unacceptable the report that a private company, operating a concession from the State Government to provide lighting on the Lekki Tollgate, could decide to extinguish the lights and Billboard lights for no logical reason. The coincidence of the timing of this action, and also of the removal of high resolution/definition number-plate recognition LPR cameras, with the commencement of the massacre which followed, is troubling and calls for explanation from the proprietors of these companies.
The group Considers it a national disgrace that the various arms of the Government have shown this level of callousness towards young Nigerians in the same month as they were enjoined to celebrate the 60thanniversary of the grant of independence to their country.
The group However, Calls upon the Government to bring closure to this disgraceful saga by ending the campaign of denial to allow the injured and the bereaved the dignity and healing which they deserve.
Condemns the fines which the National Broadcasting Commission has imposed on the news outlets for their coverage of the massacre. We view it as an attempt to coerce journalists and news outlets from performing their public information responsibilities.
The group further thanked members of the international community and the Nigerians in the Diaspora for the concern and support which they have shown for the wellbeing of the citizens of Nigeria and calls upon them to continue to remain engaged until justice is done in this matter.
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