Nigeria governor announces judicial investigation into shooting of protesters News
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Nigeria governor announces judicial investigation into shooting of protesters

Lagos governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu announced via Twitter Tuesday that a judicial investigation will begin into the protestor shootings that unfolded in the Nigerian city.

The governor stated that “on our work to end police brutality, our judicial panel is ready to begin work. We want to find justice and provide compensation for victims to the best of our abilities.”

The judicial panel, which the governor inaugurated on October 19, will be “an 8-man Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution which will receive and investigate complaints of police brutality in Lagos.” Further, Sanwo-Olu stated that “the panel will in the next 24 hours be joined by 2 youth representatives and a member of the National Human Rights Commission as we look to provide restitution while following due process.”

The governor has stated that the judicial proceedings have begun, where “orderly room trials of erring policemen resulting in dismissals, demotions and more severe punishment for human rights violations have begun. We have also started engaging with protesters and all sides affected in all this.”

To show commitment to rebuilding Lagos and ending police brutality, the governor tweeted a list of ongoing prosecutions against police officers for various human rights violations in Lagos. The governor also stated that “the scope of the panel has been expanded to cover the Lekki toll incident,” where, according to Amnesty International, “protests at the Lekki Toll Gate on 20 October were part of the #EndSars protests that began on 8 October 2020. Nigerians have been taking to the streets, peacefully demanding an end to police brutality, extrajudicial executions and extortion by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian police tasked with fighting violent crimes. But they have been met with excessive use of force by the army and police forces. On 20 October peaceful protesters were reportedly shot dead when the Nigerian Army opened fire on protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate. An on-the-ground investigation by Amnesty International has confirmed that the Nigerian army and police killed peaceful protesters.”

The Judicial Panel on SARS will continue investigations and is calling for memoranda from victims of SARS related abuses.

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