Metro News
Mass burial of 103 ENDSARS victims: Lagos Govt reacts, says corpses not from Lekki tollgate
The Lagos state government says the bodies of 103 victims of #EndSARS protest in 2020 prepared for mass burial were not from the Lekki tollgate.
The state government, in a statement released on Sunday, said no dead body was retrieved from the Lekki toll gate as a result of the protest.
The statement was signed by Olusegun Ogboye, permanent secretary, Lagos ministry of health.
THE LEAKED DOCUMENT
On Sunday, a letter indicating that the Lagos state government has approved the sum of N61,285,000 for the “mass burial” of 103 people who died during the 2020 #EndSARS protests in the state, went viral on social media.
The details of the contract approval were contained in a letter of no objection signed by Onafowote Idowu, director-general of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency.
The contract was awarded to Messers TOS Funeral Limited.
The letter, dated July 19, 2023, was addressed to the permanent secretary of the Lagos ministry of health.
“Following review of your request and based on the information provided therein, the agency had “no objection” to the award of contract to Messrs TOS Funeral Limited at a total cost of N61,285,000 (sixty-one million, two hundred and eighty-five thousand naira) only for the mass burial for the 103, the year of 2020 EndSARS victims,” the letter reads.
The development is coming two years and nine months after the 2020 #EndSARS protest took place.
The leaked letter elicited varied reactions on social media.
LAGOS CONFIRMS CONTRACT
In the statement, the Lagos government confirmed the move to conduct a “mass burial” for 103 bodies recovered during the protest, saying that the bodies have remained unclaimed almost three years later.
The state government said the corpses were retrieved from many parts of the state, including Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah.
The state government added that one of the cases of violent attacks that happened during the #EndSARS protest was the jailbreak at Ikoyi prison.
“For the records, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos state,” the statement reads.
“There was also a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison. The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and NOT from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, no body was retrieved from the Lekki toll gate incident.
“In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the office of the chief coroner invited members of the public through public adverts and announcements (November 18, 2020, Punch and November 19, 2020, THISDAY) who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between 19th and 27th October 2020 from various clashes as mentioned above, to contact the department of pathology and forensic medicine of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to help with identification of these casualties deposited in state-owned morgues.
“Relatives were to undergo DNA tests for identification purposes. It is important to state categorically that nobody responded to claim any of the bodies.
“However, after almost three years, the bodies remain unclaimed, adding to the congestion of the morgues. This spurred the need to decongest the morgues — a procedure that follows very careful medical and legal guidelines in the event that a relative may still turn up to claim a lost relative years after the incident.”
’99 PEOPLE KILLED DURING #EndSARS PROTEST — BUT THREE FROM LEKKI’
On June 6, 2021, John Obafunwa, consultant pathologist to the state government, told the #EndSARS judicial panel that out of a total of 99 bodies examined for autopsy after the protest, three were from Lekki.
Obafunwa said the remaining bodies were received from other parts of the state, including Surulere, Ikorodu, Ajah, and Fagba, among others.
Some days later, the pathologist submitted autopsy reports of the 99 persons killed during the protest.
After days of intensive search, the corpse of a drainage worker, who got trapped while clearing the debris that blocked a tunnel in the Onipanu area of Lagos State has been recovered.
Olufemi Oke-Osanyintolu, Permanent Secretary of the Lagos State Emergency Management Authority, while confirming this in a statement on Friday, identified the deceased as 59-year-old Tajudeen Amololo.
The LASEMA boss in the statement said, “The victim identified as Mr. Tajudeen Amololo (age-59) has been recovered dead from the drainage and bagged by cobra team subsequently handed him over to LAMATA (Drainducks) with the Nigeria Police Force Ilupeju Division officials for adequate action.
“Recovery operation concluded while cobra team with the agency’s paramedic heading back to base.”
The sad incident happened on Monday while the victim was de-silting drainage in the community.
Oke-Osanyintolu noted that the Lagos Metropolitan Area Transport Authority employed a male adult who works for Drain Ducks.
-
News3 years agoNollywood Actress Nkechi Blessing speaks on plastic surgery, big butts
-
Entertainment2 years agoDJ Dimple Nipple dropped by longtime boyfriend after claiming D’Prince allegedly demanded sex for roles
-
News3 years agoPlus size rocks: Ghanaian plus size dancer who can’t travel by air because of her size
-
Privacy3 years agoSelf-imposed Oba vacates ‘palace’ after warnings by community
-
Sports2 years agoMeet Ashleigh Plumptre, the ‘Oyinbo’ member of Nigeria Super Falcons [Video]
-
Entertainment2 years agoIni Edo welcomes first child through surrogacy, speaks on past miscarriages
-
News3 years agoHow CCTV ’caught’ Baba Ijesha molesting minor
-
Opinion3 years agoLeave our community, Imobi orders self-imposed Oba