No less than 200 defenseless EndSARS protesters have so far been killed by Nigerian soldiers, police personnel and hired pro-Government hoodlums, rights group, the International Society for Civil Liberties & Rule of Law (Intersociety) has estimated after an investigative tally it said was based on reliable information obtained from across the country.
A girl carries placard reading “Special Ant-Robbery Squad (SARS) Kill, SARS Rape, SARS Extort, End SARS Now” on the road to a government house in continuation of an ongoing demonstration to call for the scrapping of the controversial police unit at Ikeja, on October 9, 2020. – Nigeria’s top police chief banned a controversial anti-robbery unit and other special agents from mounting roadblocks and carrying out stop-and-search operations over accusations of abuses. Inspector-General of Police Muhammed Adamu said the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) and other tactical squads must stop such operations “with immediate effect”. Adamu said the decision followed findings that “a few personnel” in undercover tactical squads have abused their position “to perpetrate all forms of illegality”. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP) (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI/AFP via Getty Images)
“The killings took place between 7th Oct when the protests started in Lagos and Friday, 23rd Oct 2020. Military terror is still being reported in Abia, Ebonyi and Rivers states and with the latest ‘use maximum force’ order issued by IGP, Abubakar Adamu, death tolls are expected to rise further across the country particularly in South-South and Southeast in coming weeks. While soldiers and police personnel used deadly and excessive force on protesters in different parts of the country, Islamist hoodlums allied with the present Government of Nigeria targeted and attacked the protesters in some parts of Northern Nigeria including Abuja, FCT, Kano and Plateau. They also targeted and unleashed violence against properties belonging to protesters and those owned by Christian traders resident in the named areas,” Intersociety said in a statement issued on Sunday, October 25, 2020, in Onitsha, Eastern Nigeria.
“It is also our gathered information that the violent dimension introduced in the protests was reportedly originally hatched by the Government and its security forces for purpose of discrediting the peaceful protests and prepare grounds for massacring of the defenseless protesters. This was further fueled by the shooting to death of between 15 and 20 defenseless citizens at Lekki Tollgate and injuring of multiple dozens as well as the discovery of hoarding of COVID-19 palliatives in several Government Emergency Aid warehouses. Food and humanitarian experts told Intersociety that the hoarding was deliberately designed by politicians to use the hoarded items for electioneering after re-bagging and re-branding them,” Intersociety said in the statement signed by the principal officers: Emeka Umeagbalasi, Amaka Onuoha, Esq., Chinwe Umeche, Esq, Obianuju Igboeli, Esq., Ndidiamaka Bernard, Esq., and Comrade Sam Kamanyaoku.
Giving details, Intersociety said: “The breakdown of the not less than 200 EndSARS protest deaths across the country shows that at least 50 defenseless citizens were killed in different parts of Lagos including Mushin (at least 17 deaths), Lekki (between 15 and 20 deaths), Ikorodu (at least six deaths), Ketu (at least two deaths), Orile (at least three deaths), Alausa, etc. The Lagos killings included the 15-20 deaths recorded at Lekki Army shooting of Tuesday night, 20th Oct 2020. A key witness of the killings, Ms Obianuju Catherine Udeh (a.k.a. DJ Switch), had disclosed to the Premium Times that she and her protesting colleagues/survivors “handed over fifteen bodies of the slain protesters to the Army unit commander that killed the protesters and the corpses were taken away by his team”.
“In Southeast, not less than 53 deaths were recorded involving: Abia, at least 20 deaths (i.e. Ariaria/Uratta Junction-seven deaths, SAMEC/Ariaria-one death, Faulks Road-two deaths (a woman and her child), Ngwa Road/Obohia-one death and Azikiwe/Asa Road-two deaths). Anambra recorded at least eight deaths, Enugu 10 deaths (Abakpa-four deaths, Coal Camp-four deaths and Queens College area-two deaths), Ebonyi five deaths and Imo ten deaths (Isiala-Mbano-five deaths and Umuna-Orlu-five deaths). In South-South, Rivers and Edo topped the list with not less than 25 deaths. Multiple dozens of defenseless citizens, numbering not less than 50 were also reported killed by soldiers and police personnel in Abuja (at least five deaths), FCT, Oyo Ogun, Ondo, Kano, Plateau and others. The number of protesters killed by pro Government’s Islamic hoodlums across the North is between 15 and 20. They included four killed at Sabon Gari in Kano and six killed in the Apo Mechanic Village, Abuja, FCT.”
Intersociety blamed the Nigerian Government for the violence and property destruction. According to it, “The present central Government of Nigeria and the country’s security agencies; not the protesters and their organizers should culpably be blamed for violent dimension the EndSARS protests took and property destructions that followed. Had the Government acted wisely by directing its security agencies not to shoot at the protesters but to guard and protect them and their protests, the violence that greeted same would not have occurred. Also had the Government not allowed its allied Islamist hoodlums to launch attacks on the protesters including killing dozens of them and burning their vehicles and other properties, the violence would have not have occurred.”
