October 19th, 2023.

Waiting for Accountability 20-10-20 3 Years and Counting!

Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold; Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world,
The blood-dimmed tide is loosed, and everywhere
The ceremony of innocence is drowned; William Yeats
(Made popular in Nigeria by Chinua Achebe’s Classic novel “Things fall apart”)

The currency of transaction in a democracy is TRUST. Trust that the people elected by citizens would fulfil their governance role of ensuring the welfare and security of all citizens as stipulated by the Constitution. The Nigerian people and its government have been
running on its bare minimum for years, and the tragic events of 20.10.20 ran it into a deeper deficit. To ensure that Nigeria regains its stability and fulfils its aspiration of becoming a state where peace and justice reigns, there must be accountability for the lives that were extrajudicially lost during the #EndSARS protest, and a reconciling of the Nigerian government to its responsibility of ensuring the health and independence of its civic space.

The facts that led up to the killing of unarmed protesters kneeling and holding the Nigerian
flag on October 20, 2020 must be kept fresh in the minds of all, and citizens’ demand for
accountability must not be lost in the conundrum of “we move!”. While it is important to move on, we must NEVER forget – even after justice is served.

In October 2020, Nigerians, deeply dissatisfied with the conduct of their country’s
government and its institutions, took to the streets to voice their frustration, particularly to
protest the brutality of a police unit-the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The movement,
spearheaded by young Nigerians, began on social media with the hashtag #ENDSARS and
spontaneously spilled to the streets across major cities in Nigeria and even internationally.
The demands of the protesters were clear and compelling as they mainly asked for:

1. Immediate release of all arrested protesters.
2. Justice for all deceased victims of police brutality and appropriate compensation for their
   families.
3. Establishment of an independent body to oversee the investigation and prosecution of all
   reported police misconduct within 10 days.
4. Implementation of psychological evaluations and retraining for all disbanded SARS
   operatives, subject to verification by an independent body.
5. Improved police salaries and adequate compensation for their role in safeguarding the
   lives and property of Nigerian citizens.
   The protests which began and remained peaceful for the most part took a dark turn when
   sponsored counter-protestors and thugs attacked peaceful demonstrators, causing mayhem
   and achieving their aim of disrupting the protests. The most tragic incident occurred on the
   night of October 20, 2020, when armed Nigerian military personnel shot at unarmed
   protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State. This horrifying incident resulted in the loss of
   at least 123 lives and left more than 32 people injured. By the end of the protests, a devastating toll of at least 246 lives were taken, and approximately 352 individuals were
   arrested in connection with the peaceful demonstrations. Furthermore, the bank accounts
   of several individuals and organizations who had made financial donations to the #ENDSARS
   movement were extrajudicially frozen by the government.
   Fast forward three years and accountability remains elusive. Frustration at the slow wheel of
   justice appears to have given in to a cloud of despondency. Law enforcement brutality and extrajudicial killings have not stopped and there has been no accountability for the events of October 20, 2020. In July 2023, a letter emanating from the Lagos State Procurement agency
   revealed that the Lagos State Government had contracted a private firm to quietly bury 103 bodies tagged as “Endsars victims”. A fact that the state government had initially admitted
   and thereafter vehemently denied.
   The Judicial panels of Inquiries set up across 30 states of the Federation to investigate
   alleged human rights abuses committed by the defunct SARS and other units of the Police
   received around 2,888 petitions. Most of the Panels completed their assignments and made
   recommendations to the government. However, most of the reports presented to state
   governments were not released to the public. In instances in which they were made public,
   we have noted the regrettable lack of political will to implement them. Only a handful of
   states, such as Lagos, Ekiti, and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), have taken steps to
   compensate a few of the victims as recommended by the panels.
   In the meantime, Nigerians continue to live in fear of law enforcement brutality – agents
   employed with their tax monies to protect them. Global Rights mass atrocities tracker
   reveals that between 2020 and the first half of 2023, at least 848 lives were tragically lost to
   extrajudicial violence. Of particular concern is that during the first half of 2023 alone, at least
   127 people were victims of extrajudicial killings. These statistics underscore the urgency of addressing this atrocious issue.

Impunity only leads to further impunity. Accountability is the only antidote to ending the
cycle of atrocities and keeps both government and the governed securely within the
contractual boundaries of the constitution. Failure to act on the atrocities of the past will
only lead to an ever-enlarging cycle of violence and distrust. When trust dies, a nation ends.
The right to dissent in governance is a right that cannot be taken away from citizens in a
democracy. Peaceful protests and demonstrations are established tools of democratic
expression backed by both domestic and international laws and have proven time and again
to be critical catalysts for social change. They are recognized as physical manifestations of
the right to freedom of expression, association, and freedom of peaceful assembly – all
rights guaranteed by the Nigerian Constitution.
It is on this premise that we again stand in solidarity with Nigerians. We respectfully
remember and demand accountability for those who were maimed, lost their lives, their
livelihoods, their property, and their dignity during the #ENDSARS protest, and every other
encroachment on the Nigerian civic space. We stand with them to demand:

1. Accountability for the many victims of Nigerian law enforcement and Security agents.
   This should begin with unveiling the officials responsible for the ugly events of
   20/10/20. Those who gave the orders for protesters to be shot, those who carried out
   those orders and those who went to great lengths to cover up evidence of that crime
   should be arrested and prosecuted.
2. That the Nigerian government at all levels take concrete steps towards implementing
   the recommendations of Judicial panels of Inquiry set up to investigate alleged
   human rights abuses by the Police. The Government is a continuum and citizens
   should not be placed in a position where they have to ponder whether the incoming
   leadership will exhibit the political will to execute these crucial recommendations.
3. That the Nigerian Law enforcement and Security apparatus take more concrete steps
   to reorient itself to ensure zero tolerance for harassment, torture, brutality, and
   extrajudicial killings.
   To citizens, we salute your continued courage and commitment to building a nation on the
   ethos of participatory governance and respect for human rights – where peace and justice reigns.

Abiodun Baiyewu
Executive Director
Global Right