2020 Lekki toll gate shooting: Nigerian judicial panel condemns shooting as ‘a
The Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution at the Lagos Court of Arbitration had been charged with investigating last year’s notorious Lekki toll gate shooting in Lagos, when Nigerian security forces opened fire on young people protesting peacefully against alleged police brutality.
Its bombshell report — which took more than a year to produce — accuses Nigerian Army officers of having “shot, injured and killed unarmed helpless and defenseless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag and singing the national anthem and the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre.”
The panel also found “the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated by its refusal to allow ambulances render medical assistance to victims who required such assistance. The Army was also found not to have adhered to its own Rules of Engagement.”
The panel’s report underscores and repeatedly references previous reporting by CNN, which used time stamps, video data, and geolocation last year to analyze hours of video filmed by protesters.
CNN’s investigation found the Nigerian army fired live rounds into crowds at Lekki toll gate, killing and wounding several people. Multiple witnesses also told CNN last year that ambulances were prevented from entering the site to help wounded protesters.
Despite an abundance of video evidence, the Nigerian government has long denied that protesters were shot. Last month, on the one-year anniversary of the shooting, Nigeria’s Minister of Information Alhaji Lai Mohammed described the incident as a “phantom massacre” and continued to dismiss CNN’s investigation as fake news.
The government and military did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the judicial panel’s Monday report, which cites CNN dozens of times.
However, Lagos Gov. Babajide Sanwo-Olu has said the Lagos state government would implement the panel’s recommendations, according to local media.
What happened
The investigating panel was initially set up in October 2020 by the Lagos state government to look into cases of alleged police brutality — and the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad — and later tasked with investigating the toll gate incident.
The panel’s report furthermore alleges cover-up attempts by police, which it says cleaned up the aftermath of the shooting at Lekki toll gate and failed to preserve the scene for investigators. “The police officers also…
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