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Tag: #ENDSARS

Twitter’s founder, Dorsey, liable for #EndSARS losses – FG
The Federal Government says Twitter and its founder, Jack Dorsey, are vicariously liable for the losses the country suffered during the EndSARS protest.
The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, stated this on Tuesday when he featured on “Politics Nationwide,’’ a Radio Nigeria call-in programme monitored by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja.
Mohammed alleged that Dorsey raised funds through Bitcoins to sponsor the EndSARS protest while his platform, Twitter, was used to fuel the crisis.
He said when he made the allegations earlier, Nigerians did not take him seriously until an online media outfit carried out an investigation and fact-checking.
The minister said the online publication confirmed that Dorsey retweeted some of the posts by some of the coalitions supporting the EndSARS protest.
He said it was also confirmed that the Twitter founder launched fundraising asking people to donate via Bitcoins.
The minister said Dorsey further launched Emoji to make the EndSARS protest visible on the microblogging site.
He said Dorsey also retweeted the tweets of some foreign and local supporters of EndSARS.
“If you ask people to donate money via bitcoins for EndSARS protesters then you are vicariously liable for whatever is the outcome of the protest.
“We have forgotten that EndSARS led to the loss of lives, including 37 policemen, six soldiers, 57 civilians while property worth billions of naira were destroyed.
“164 police vehicles and 134 police stations were razed to the ground, 265 private corporate organisation were looted while 243 public property were looted.
“81 warehouses were looted while over 200 brand new buses bought by Lagos State Government were burnt to ashes,’’ he said.
The minister said it was unfair to conclude that the operation of Twitter was suspended indefinitely because it deleted President Muhammadu Buhari’s message.
He said the government was unambiguous that the action was taken because the platform was being used to promote the views of those who wanted to destabilise the country.
Mohammed added that Twitter consistently offered its platform to promote agendas that were inimical to the corporate existence of Nigeria.
“Twitter has become a platform of choice for a particular separatist promoter.
“The promoter consistently used the platform to direct his loyalists to kill Nigerian soldiers and policemen, run-down INEC offices and destroy all symbols of Nigeria’s sovereignty.
“Every attempt to persuade Twitter to deny its platform to this separatist leader was not taken seriously,’’ he said.
The minister said the Federal Government has no apology to offer to those unhappy over the suspension of Twitter’s operations in the country.
He said a country must exist in peace before people could exercise freedom of speech and fight for a source of livelihood.
June 15, 2021
#EndSARS: Two Victims Of Police Brutality Receive N11m Compensation
The Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for victims of SARS has again given out cheques to more victims of police brutality.
At the panel’s sitting on Saturday, two victims were awarded the sum of N11 million as compensation.
With the new compensations, the panel has now given out a total sum of N68. 25 million to 12 petitioners.
In the petition of late Rasheed Olanrewaju Kareem, his widow was awarded the sum of N10m for the extra judicial killing.
The brother of the deceased, Olalekan Bankole, who testified on February 16, had said that the deceased was shot in the head by police officers from the Area C Command in Surulere.
The incident was said to have occurred on October 21, 2020 during the #EndSARS protests.
The panel found that the police authorities failed to investigate the unjustified shooting of unarmed persons at the Tejuosho and Aralile areas of Surulere in Lagos, as well as the extrajudicial killing of the deceased and other persons.
The Chairman of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi recommended that “the Nigeria Police Force carries out an independent investigation into the sporadic and deliberate shooting, in order to confirm who carried out the shooting” and prosecute them accordingly.
In the petition of Yinka Austin Adebayo, the panel awarded him the sum of N1 million naira as compensation for the unlawful arrest, brutality and torture meted on him by police operatives between September 28 and 30, 2017.
In reaching its decision, the panel found that on the totality of evidence adduced by the petitioner, the Petitioner’s evidence was undefended, strong and uncontroverted by the Police.
It was also corroborated by the evidence of the second witness as proof that Mr Austin’s rights were infringed upon unjustifiably, having being cleared by the DPO of the Ojo Police Command in Lagos of committing any crime, yet he was still transferred to the SARS unit at Ikeja.
The panel frowned at the illegal confiscation of his car and further held that he was entitled to compensation in the sum of N1m for the violation of his personal liberty and degrading treatment meted to him
May 15, 2021
#EndSARS: Lagos Panel Shown Live Bullet Extracted From Victim Of Extra-Judicial Killing
The acting Chief Medical Examiner of Lagos State, Dr. Sunday Soyemi today testified before the judicial panel on restitution for victims of SARS-related abuses.
He showed the panel a bullet he extracted from a victim of an extrajudicial killing, Charles Otoo.
At a previous proceeding, the panel had summoned the doctor to shed more light on the cause of death of the late Charles Otoo.
In a petition put before the panel by his widow, Victoria, the late Charles was said to have been shot on Oct 21, 2020, at about 6 pm by men of the Nigerian Police Force, Divisional Headquarters, Ojodu.
According to the widow, a policewoman simply identified as Chinyere allegedly shot the gun which hit the late Charles Otoo by the side of his head. He reportedly lost a lot of blood and eventually died at about 8 pm at the hospital where he was rushed.
At the proceedings today, Dr Soyemi, a lecturer in the college of medicine, Lasuth and a pathologist of 17 years, testified that “the cause of death was a severe injury to the brain following a gunshot to the skull”.
The pathologist who also signed the post mortem report of the deceased showed the panel the bullet he extracted from the late Charles Otto in the course of examining him.
He said the bullet would still need to undergo ballistic examination before the coroner’s court.
After sighting the bullet, the panel admitted photographs of it in evidence and returned the bullet back to the doctor to enable it to undergo the necessary examinations and analysis.
The panel also admitted the post mortem report as evidence.
The panel then listened to a police witness who testified that contrary to the evidence of Mrs Victoria Otoo, the police had nothing to do with the death of the late Charles.
The police witness, Lukeman Sowemimo, who claimed he was the station officer at the Ojodu police station at the time denied that his station had any female officer named Chinyere.
He narrated how some #EndSARS protesters allegedly set part of the police station ablaze on the 22nd of Oct., 2020 but insisted that the officers stayed back in the station to protect it and themselves and did not go out for any patrol.
When shown the bullet brought by the pathologist, and asked if he could identify it, the witness said from his experience, the bullet came from a pistol.”
“The difference between a pistol and a rifle is that pistol can only kill at a close range while a rifle can kill from any distance. I am not a ballistician, but with my experience as a mobile man, if I see pistol ammunition, I can differentiate it from an AK 47 ammunition,” he said.
Under cross-examination by counsel to the petitioner, Mr Adebola Lema, the witness admitted that police officers sometimes carry pistols.
On the question of the maximum range of an AK 47 when shot? The witness put the range at 40metres and said that even at that range it can still do maximum damage if it hits someone.
On further cross-examination by counsel to the Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko (SAN), the counsel asked the witness; “We had a General (from the Nigerian Army) testify before the panel that the AK 47 could cause damage even up to 350m? Do you agree?
The witness answered in the affirmative.
The Petitioner’s counsel, Adebola Lema has adopted his final written address and asked the panel to take note of the inconsistency in the answer given by the witness as to the maximum range of the Ak 47.
May 12, 2021
#EndSARS: Witness Plays Video That Claims Army Shot Protesters At Lekki Toll Gate
The Lagos State judicial panel on restitution for victims of SARS related abuses resumed sitting on Saturday with the continuation of the testimony of an EndSARs co-ordinator, Serah Ibrahim.
Serah came along with several videos, some of which she said she shot personally with her iPhone.
One after the other, she played the videos which according to her demonstrates that soldiers shot at peaceful protesters on the night of October 20.
As she played the videos, she explained to the panel that soldiers shot at the harmless protesters and even took away some of the dead bodies.
She specifically mentioned that one of the active protesters, Lekan Sanusi was thought to be dead and the soldiers took away his body.
She later found out that he was taken to MRS Hospital at Bonny camp where an unidentified nurse helped him to escape.
Serah also played videos of some persons who suffered gunshot wounds from bullets allegedly shot by the military with protesters surrounding them and trying to tend to their wounds.
When asked if she could authenticate the videos as to the time they were taken and the location, she mentioned that anyone could do this using Google Drive and she proceeded to demonstrate how it could be done.
The videos of two mothers who claimed to have lost their children at the protest ground were also played.
The videos were contained in the flash drive Serah Ibrahim tendered at the last sitting of the panel.
Serah is expected to continue her testimony on May 15.
Lekki Toll Gate Shooting
Serah’s testimony is the latest development in the controversy that has trailed the events at the Lekki toll gate on the night of October 20.
The army has repeatedly denied that it fatally shot at protesters and the Federal Government has said reports of a massacre at the toll gate was fake news.
“The purveyors of fake news and disinformation succeeded in deceiving the entire world that there was mass killing in Lekki, even when till date, not a single body has been produced and not a single family or relative has come out to say their child or ward was killed at Lekki toll gate,” Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, said at a press briefing in November.
But witnesses, including Nigerian songwriter and musician, Obianuju Udeh, better known as DJ Switch, have insisted that the army took away bodies at the protest ground.
Amnesty International reported that 10 persons died during the event, a figure disputed by the Nigerian government.
The US government, in a human rights report released in March, said “accurate information on fatalities resulting from the shooting was not available” as at the end of 2020.
The EndSARS protests were one of the largest street demonstrations since Nigeria returned to democracy in 1999.
The protests, mostly championed by young people, started as a campaign against police brutality but quickly metamorphosed into a rallying cry against bad governance.
May 8, 2021
#Lekkimassacre: Witness Submits Live Bullet, Flash Drives As Evidence To Lagos Panel
One of the coordinators of the #EndSARS protest, Serah Ibrahim, says she witnessed how soldiers and later policemen shot innocent protesters at the Lekki toll gate.
She made the statement on Saturday in her testimony at the resumed sitting of the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for victims of SARS and other related matters.
At a previous sitting, the witness told the panel that she was at the protest ground in Lekki every day, coordinating some of the activities and she was an eyewitness to the shooting on the night of October 20, 2020.
The panel is racing against time after it got a three-month extension to complete the hearing and give decisions in the 235 petitions it received from the public.
To make up for some of the time lost to the Easter holidays, the panel listed 17 cases for hearing on Saturday as opposed to about 10 to 12 it usually hears at a sitting.
Reports gathered that of the 235 petitions received by the panel, there were 14 cases related to the Lekki shooting.
Led in evidence by her counsel and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Yinka Olumide-Fusika, Serah, who described herself as a freelance auditor continued her testimony of the events of the night on Saturday.
She tendered in evidence two flash drives containing photos and videos that suggested that the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) had more visuals in its custody capable of revealing what exactly transpired on the night of the incident.
The evidence, according to her, suggested that the LCC had more cameras on the ground on the night of the incident to show what really happened during the Lekki shooting.
The witness told the panel that over five different cameras were on the ground, but most of them have now been removed.
She went on to give a very lengthy narration of how soldiers shot at protesters, as well as the activities of the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and some operatives of the Maroko Police Station who she claimed also shot at protesters.
“This was the live one (bullet) that was cocked in front of me; I picked it myself,” Serah said.
The witness holds a live bullet as evidence while giving her testimony before the panel.
She also alleged that a hospital refused to release information about some of the protesters receiving treatment after the shooting at the Lekki toll gate.
After giving her testimony, the panel admitted in evidence some bullets which the witness said she picked from the floor during the shooting.
It also granted the request of Serah’s lawyer to summon the Director of Hospital Administration and HR of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Mr K. F. Gbajumo, who allegedly issued a memo prohibiting his staff from giving out information on the victims.
On the next adjourned date, the witness is expected to play more of the videos she gathered on the night of the incident to further prove her narration of the events of the shooting at the protest venue.
April 18, 2021
#EndSARS: Four Petitioners Get N16.25m Cheques At Lagos Judicial Panel
At the resumed sitting on Saturday, the panel gave decisions in six petitions and found that the four of them were able to prove their cases successfully.
The petitioners, comprising three women and a man, received a total of N16.25 million in total.
A breakdown of the amount shows that the three women received cheques of N10 million, N5 million, and N750,000 respectively, while the man got a cheque of N500,000.
They took turns to receive the cheques from the Chairman of the Panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi.
Following the presentation of the cheques to the petitioners, the panel moved on to the cross-examination of a trauma and orthopaedic surgeon, Dr Babatunde Lawson, from Reddington Hospital.
However, the cross-examination of the medical practitioner was stalled because the counsel to the Lagos State government who was meant to take him through the process was absent.
Thereafter, the panel listened to the testimony of another petitioner, Samuel Ashola, who was at the venue of the Lekki tollgate protest in October 2020.
More to follow…
March 27, 2021
#LekkiMassacre: Five Months After, Nigerians Demand Answers
Five months after operatives of the Nigerian Army stormed the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos and opened fire on the peaceful #EndSARS protesters, Nigerians are demanding answers.
The protesters who were demanding an end to police brutality and good governance in the country had converged at the toll gate before being shot by armed security personnel on October 20, 2020.
Several are feared killed, while many others sustained gunshot wounds.
Following the incident, the National Economic Council (NEC) which Vice President Yemi Osinbajo chairs, had unanimously agreed to set up a judicial panel of inquiry to address the cases of victims of police brutality and compensate their families.
The panel was inaugurated by state governors across the country with members given a six-month period to function and forward its recommendations to the state governments.
However Nigerians seem not to be pleased that five months after the nation experienced what could be termed as a ‘Black Tuesday’, the authorities are yet to fish out the security operatives who shot at the innocent protesters.
In addition, they are demanding answers as to who ordered the shootings as well as the arraignment and prosecution of the military personnel.
March 20, 2021
#EndSARS: Nigerians on social media ask EFCC to probe Oba of Lagos over stolen $2m, N17m
Nigerians on social media have called on the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the Oba of Lagos, Rilwan Akiolu, for money laundering.
The monarch had said $2 million and N17 million were stolen when youths attacked his palace on October 21, 2020 in the violence that erupted after the #EndSARS protests.
Oba Akiolu, whose staff of office known as the ‘Opa Ase’, was also taken away by hoodlums who broke into his palace during the riot, spoke on Wednesday in Lagos.
He said, “I will support anything that will move Lagos forward. I have appealed to the Federal Government to assist Lagos with what we have suffered. The incident that happened here from October 20th to 23rd is so saddening.
“The destruction we suffered in Lagos is so enormous than in any other part of the country.
“Many buildings were burnt, including vehicles used to generate income. I can now say publicly that they stole $2 million and N17 million from my palace.
“Those who committed the offence would not have done that if they knew the implication. But as a father, I won’t place any curse on them.”
The monarch has however been under serious attack on social media as some Nigerians have expressed shock he had that amount of money in his palace. While others called on the EFCC to investigate the monarch, others accused him of being ”wicked ”to have kept such a huge sum of money in his palace while members of his immediate community live in hunger.
See reactions below

March 4, 2021
#EndSARS: Why we’ve not awarded compensation – Osun Panel of Inquiry Chairman, Oladimeji
…says panel has disposed 23 cases so far
…as petitioner voluntarily withdraws case.
By Richard Ayinde, Osogbo
The Chairman, Osun State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations and Related Extra Judicial Killings, Justice Akin Oladimeji (rtd.), on Friday disclosed that it reserved its recommendations as part of efforts to ensure justice and adequate compensations for all.
He said the panel reserved its recommendations in some of the cases already concluded in line with judicial procedure.
Justice Oladimeji who reaffirmed the commitment of the panel to ensure fairness and equity in all the petitions brought before it, said members of the panel had been working rigorously to ensure adequate compensations to those with good cases.
He said the panel has disposed of 23 cases out of 34 petitions before it.
This is even as a petitioner, Chief Jelili Adegoke Raheem, voluntarily withdrew his petition before the panel following his decision to settle the matter.
Raheem had approached the panel to seek justice on alleged assault meted out to him recently by a serving police officer in the State.
The petitioner had in his petition claimed that he was beaten to stupor by one Superintendent Dayo Ezekiel who allegedly punched him for no reason in October 2nd, 2020 while exiting a motor-park around Oke-Baale, Osogbo.
The Counsel for the petitioner, Barrister Michael Akinwande, who forwarded an application before the panel for the withdrawal of the case, said his client had settled the matter amicably with the accused person before the adjournment.
He said it was interesting to know that the erring officer had complied with the order of the superior police officer that had earlier charged him to formally apologise to his client before the case was brought before the panel.
According to him, the petitioner resolved to settle matter having agreed and shown contentment with the apology tendered by the respondent.
Ruling in the case, Justice Oladimeji struck out the petition in response to the request of the petitioner’s counsel since the matter has no public interest.
Addressing journalists shortly after the proceedings on Friday, Justice Oladimeji held that it was procedural for the panel to conclude all the cases, put its recommendations on paper and present same to government for adequate implementation and compensations.
Asked why the panel has not been awarding compensations to petitioners with genuine cases, Oladimeji said, “It is conventional to complete all the cases before awarding compensations”.
While updating the public on the progress recorded since the inauguration of the panel, Oladimeji said the panel had disposed of 23 cases out of 34 cases before it.
“We struck out 12 cases out of 23 cases that we have concluded and 3 cases had reached final address stage, while 8 cases are pending for hearing and further hearing,” Oladimeji added.
The panel however adopted the final address written by the counsel for Mr. Ibrahim Olagoke who had petitioned the police for brutality.
February 27, 2021
#EndSars: Police killed my brother, shot me three times, I ‘ve been carrying life bullet since 2017, petitioner tells Osun Panel
…I want urgent release of my husband corpse killed by Police. — wife
By Richard Ayinde, Osogbo.
A petitioner, Mr. Teslim Ibitoye, has narrated how he and his younger brother were shot by police over an offence they knew nothing about.
Ibitoye disclosed this on Thursday in a petition to the Osun Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Police Brutality, Human Rights Violations and Related Extra Judicial Killings when the panel resumed sitting.
Ibitoye said he was shot three times at different parts of the body by the police while his younger brother, Akeem Olakunle Ibitoye, who sustained degrees of gunshot injury gave up the ghost immediately.
This is even as the wife of the deceased, Kafayat Ibitoye, urged the panel to prevail on the police authorities to release the corpse of her spouse that had been withheld and kept in the morgue since 2017.
The petitioners who had approached the panel for justice, decried the brutality meted out to them which, according to them, had thrown the family into everlasting sorrow and irreparable loss.
Narrating his ordeal at the hands of the police, Teslim Ibitoye revealed that he has been carrying a life bullet in his spinal cord since the incident occurred.
He said the incident had physically deformed him as he had sustained gunshot injuries all around his body.
Ibitoye who was on the verge to crying but tried to hold back his tears, said he needed to be taken overseas for immediate medical operation to remove the bullet from his body.
He added: “On this fateful day, my younger brother and I went to see our cousin, one Mr. Nureni at Erin-Osun. Though we didn’t meet him at home, when we called him, he asked us to wait for him. But immediately he joined us, all I heard were gunshots. I couldn’t phantom were the gunshots were coming from. All I could remember was that I suddenly became unconscious.
“The three of us were taken into the vehicle i.e. myself, the corpse of my brother who died immediately and our cousin. It was when I was laid in the vehicle that I partially woke up and saw the policemen who were accusing us of kidnapping.
“I was taken to the hospital immediately and when I regained consciousness, we were taken to the Police State Command, Osogbo, where the then Commissioner of Police ordered proper medical treatment.
“But to my surprise, after few weeks, some officers sneaked us out of the Command and I was taken to Abuja where I spent few days.
“When I got to Abuja, I was handed over to Abba Kyari, the head of Police Intelligence Response Team, who, after seeing my health condition, asked them to take me to the hospital. I was eventually admitted at General Hospital, Gwagwalada, Abuja, where I spent several days on sick bed.
“I was discharged from the hospital on the 1st of August, 2017 after which I was taken to State Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) Headquarters where I spent two weeks before I was eventually released.
“We took the matter to the High Court, Osogbo, after my release but I was not satisfied with the judgement as the matter was struck out unjustly. Though the interpretation of the judgement was that our arrest at that material time was because of the proliferation of kidnapping.
“So, we have come here to seek justice. Our hope lies heavily on the outcome of the panel on this case, because the corpse of my brother is still in police custody since 2017, close to four years.
“I am appealing to the panel to prevail on the police authorities to release the corpse to us and arrange how I will be flown abroad to receive medical operation because since the incident occurred, I have been carrying a life bullet in my spinal cord, and all efforts to get it operated in Nigeria proved abortive; and I have been advised to go overseas for the operation.”
The petitioners further appealed to the panel to award them reasonable compensation to cushion the effect of all that had happened to them.
The panel had on the adjourned date directed the two parties through their counsel to visit and confirm if the corpse was still in the morgue, at the State General Hospital, Osogbo, where the corpse is preserved.
At the resumed hearing on Thursday, the Counsel for the respondent, Barrister J. Idoko, confirmed the existence of the corpse at the morgue, a claim that was affirmed by the petitioners.
Chairman of the panel, Justice Akin Oladimeji, said the case would not be continued due to the absence of the petitioners’ counsel who had earlier informed the panel of another engagement.
He therefore adjourned the case to March 1st, 2021 for further hearing.
February 26, 2021