The United States Government has reacted to the submission of the final report by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the police brutality and shooting by officers of the Nigerian Army at the Lekki Tollgate during the #EndSARS protest.
The US said that it welcomes the findings of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the #EndSARS protest of October 2020 and looks forward to the response from the Lagos State Government.
This was made known by the US through a statement issued by the US Mission in Nigeria on Tuesday, November 16, 2021, and can be seen on its website.
The US government also said that it awaits the measures to be taken by both the Federal and Lagos State Governments to address the alleged abuses meted out by some members of the security forces.
The statement reads, ‘’The United States welcomes the conclusion of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry with the transmission of its final report.
We look forward to the Lagos State government’s response as part of a process that represents an important mechanism of accountability regarding the #EndSARS protests and the events that took place near the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.
‘’Those events led to serious allegations against some members of the security forces, and we look forward to the Lagos State and federal governments taking suitable measures to address those alleged abuses as well as the grievances of the victims and their families.’’
Recall that on Monday, November 15, 2021, the Judicial Panel probing allegations of police brutality in Lagos State as well as the shootings at Lekki Tollgate during the #EndSARS protest in October 2020, in a brief ceremony, submitted its findings to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State.
One of the reports was on claims of police brutality while the other was on the shooting in the Lekki area of Lagos State during last year’s EndSARS protests.
According to media reports, the Judicial Panel accused the Nigerian Army of shooting, injuring and killing unarmed helpless and defenceless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag and singing the National Anthem.
The panel said that the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre adding that the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated by its refusal to allow ambulances to render medical assistance to victims who required such assistance.
