Amnesty International faults US report on Lekki shooting

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By Salim Yunusa

Amnesty International on Thursday said the United States could have taken more time to evaluate all available evidence before publishing its reports on the October 2020 Lekki toll gate shooting

The US government, in its 45th annual human rights report, said “accurate information on the fatalities” from the shooting remained fuzzy, noting that apart from “Amnesty International which reported 10 persons died during the event, no other organization was able to verify the claim.”

“One body from the toll gate showed signs of blunt force trauma. A second body from another location in Lagos State had bullet wounds. The government acknowledged that soldiers armed with live ammunition were present at the Lekki Toll Gate. At year’s end the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution continued to hear testimony and investigate the shooting at Lekki Toll Gate,” the report noted.

The US report generated controversy as many have claimed there are evidence to ascertain that protesters were killed by Nigerian troops.

“Amnesty International stands by its initial findings that in October we released based on the information that we’re able to independently verify as at that time and we’ve continued to encourage the state government and the federal government to do justice by the people,” Ojigho said.

“Amnesty International had asked for independent and transparent investigations into what really happened at the Lekki Toll Gate and we still haven’t seen that and that is what is really worrisome especially because a lot of people will not be able to move on until justice is served.”

Ojigho further stated that her organisation stands by its initial findings based on the information it was able to independently verify as at that time.

“There have been other reports by other organisations and also shared on social media attesting to the fact that different people who were located at the Lekki Toll Gate at the time of the incident were reportedly killed,” Ojigho said.

“CNN carried the report about a young man that died and when the younger brother called the phone number and people picked the call and they claimed that ‘this is not your brother, your brother is dead.”

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