#EndSARS: 6 years after, Global Rights demand justice for victims

Global Rights has called on the Federal Government and the Lagos State Government to ensure accountability for victims of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests, warning that six years after the Lekki Toll Gate shootings, justice remains elusive.

The organisation also demanded the immediate implementation of the judgment of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice on the Lekki incident, effective compensation for victims and their families, and guarantees of citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.

The Executive Director of Global Rights, Abiodun Baiyewu, made the demands in a statement issued on Tuesday to commemorate the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, which were organised to protest police brutality, unlawful arrests, extortion, torture and impunity among security personnel.

Baiyewu said at least 135 protesters were extrajudicially killed across the country during the 2020 demonstrations, expressing concern that accountability commensurate with the gravity of the alleged atrocities had yet to be achieved.

“As we commemorate the sixth anniversary of the Lekki Toll Gate massacre, we invite the Nigerian people, its government, in particular the Presidency, and the security forces to pause and reflect on this tragic incident,” she said.

She lamented that the demands that brought Nigerians to the streets in 2020 remained largely unmet, while the pattern of impunity had persisted.

According to her, the situation has been compounded by subsequent incidents involving the use of force against protesters and alleged extrajudicial killings by security operatives.

Baiyewu disclosed that during the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests, Global Rights documented the killing of at least 31 protesters by police officers across several states and the arbitrary arrest of 1,135 protesters, including children as young as 13 years.

She said no accountability had been established for those killings, adding that the organisation had, since the 2024 protests, recorded at least 545 extrajudicial killings by security forces across the country.

“The repression and continued use of excessive force against protesters, the killing of citizens exercising their constitutional and fundamental human rights, and the continued brazen impunity for security personnel responsible for such violations further expose the hollowness of claims that the grievances that gave rise to #EndSARS have been adequately addressed,” she said.

The #EndSARS protests erupted nationwide in October 2020 as young Nigerians demanded an end to police brutality and called for a security system that respected citizens’ rights and dignity.

Baiyewu said the demonstrations reflected years of public frustration with abuses by security personnel and the failure to establish a police force that was accountable to the people it was established and funded to protect.

She noted that Nigerians had hoped that democratic governance would guarantee respect for their rights after decades of colonial repression and military dictatorship.

However, the failure to deliver meaningful reforms had continued to undermine public confidence in government institutions, she added.

On the Lekki Toll Gate shootings, Baiyewu said the government initially denied the incident despite forensic evidence and footage of the events being captured and circulated publicly.

She recalled that the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, established to investigate the incident, found in its 2021 report that the Nigerian Army and the Nigeria Police Force were complicit in the shooting of unarmed protesters.

According to her, the panel documented several violations and recommended measures relating to accountability, compensation for victims and security-sector reforms.

However, she said the Lagos State Government subsequently rejected key findings of the report, leaving questions about the implementation of the panel’s recommendations.

Baiyewu further recalled that the ECOWAS Court of Justice, in 2024, found the Nigerian state culpable of human rights violations arising from the incident and ordered a fresh investigation, the prosecution of responsible security agents and compensation for victims.

“Yet, two years after the judgment, its award has not been fully implemented, and those responsible have not been held to account through the process ordered by the court,” she said.

She also criticised the alleged harassment and arrest of protesters who gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2024, to mark the fourth anniversary of the shootings.

According to her, the incident raised further concerns about the government’s commitment to respecting the right to peaceful assembly and complying with judicial decisions.

The Global Rights executive director stressed that the right to life, freedom from torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression were binding obligations on the state.

“The right to life, freedom from torture, cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment, and the right to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are binding obligations, not privileges that the state may choose to respect,” she said.

She argued that whenever security personnel violated these rights, the government had a responsibility to investigate the violations, ensure accountability and provide effective remedies for victims.

Baiyewu warned that failure to hold perpetrators accountable could deepen public distrust of government and weaken national cohesion at a time when Nigeria was grappling with persistent insecurity.

“The failure to guarantee accountability is not just a violation of the social contract between the state and citizens; it is the precursor to deep distrust of the state and will lead to the steady erosion of the cohesion that holds the nation together,” she said.

To address the situation, Global Rights called on the Federal Government to immediately implement the ECOWAS Court judgment on the Lekki shootings.

The organisation also demanded the establishment of public platforms through which the government could disclose the steps taken to investigate the incident, the status of disciplinary or criminal proceedings and measures being pursued to ensure that those responsible were held accountable.

It further called for urgent and effective reparations for victims and their families, alongside firm guarantees of the right to peaceful assembly.

Global Rights also urged the Lagos State Government to publicly explain its response to the Judicial Panel of Inquiry’s recommendations, identifying those already implemented, those still outstanding and the steps required to implement the recommendations it accepted.

Baiyewu reaffirmed the organisation’s commitment to supporting victims of the Lekki shootings and other Nigerians seeking justice for alleged human rights violations.

“Six years ago, we promised to stand with the victims and their families however long it takes for the arc of the moral universe to bend towards justice for them, and indeed every citizen of Nigeria,” she said.

“Global Rights has not reneged on this promise. We remain standing in solidarity with all those who continue to demand an end to police brutality and the right of citizens to protest.”

She added that the organisation honoured Nigerians who continued to stand up for their rights, insisting that no state institution should be exempt from the law.

The statement concluded with a renewed call for justice, accountability and reforms to prevent further violations of citizens’ rights by security agencies.