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Nigeria: Lagos plans mass burials for 2020 slain protesters

July 24, 2023

Lagos state government confirmed that they were planning for a mass burial of 103 people linked to the anti-police protests two years ago. The plan has prompted calls for a new probe into the killings.

https://p.dw.com/p/4UJP8
People protest at Lekki Toll plaza in Lagos in October 2021, marking the one-year anniversary of the deadly protests
The 2020 protests involved mainly young people and lasted for nearly two weeksImage: Sunday Alamba/AP/picture alliance

More than 100 people who died in Nigeria's anti-police protests in 2020 will soon be buried, a state Health Ministry official said on Sunday.

The ministry said that the fatalities were from violence in several parts of the state, but not from the notorious  protest site at the Lekki toll gate, where soldiers allegedly shot protesters.

At least 103 bodies were gathered from across the state after clashes during the protests, said Olusegun Ogboye, the permenant secretary of Lagos state's Health Ministry.

His statement came after the local media reported a leaked memo about the mass burial.

"The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and not from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged," said Ogboye.

What happened in the 2020 protests

In October 2020, thousands of Nigerians marched across the country to protest the activities of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The special unit was accused of police brutality. 

The protests of the EndSARS movement were concentrated in Lagos, where security forces allegedly opened fire at the Lekki Toll Gate venue, killing dozens. The government has denied the incident.

Many properties and car was set on fire and destroyed
Protesters at a tollgate in the upmarket Lagos district of Lekki were shot at by men that witnesses said were soldiers.Image: Sophie Bouillon/AFP/Getty Images

Many activists on Monday questioned the Lagos government's decision not to announce the planned burial until after the media leak. But authorities denied any cover-up.

"Decongestion of our public morgues is a periodic and regular exercise approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to free up space in mortuaries that have a large number of unclaimed bodies," Ogboye said.

Amnesty demands new probes

Following the new information about the deaths, Amnesty International's Nigeria office accused the authorities of covering up the true death toll from the protests.

"Men associated with the government directly or indirectly and sponsored thugs attacked and injured, and in some cases killed protesters. You can see the government shifting the goal post every now and then, which shows a lack of honesty," the group's Nigeria director, Isa Sanusi, told the Associated Press (AP) news agency.

The number of victims of the 2020 protests is still disputed.

 ara/fb (Reuters, AP)