The Lagos State Government has refuted claims that the bodies of 103 #EndSARS protest victims, prepared for mass burial, were linked to the Lekki tollgate incident in 2020.
On Sunday, a leaked letter went viral on social media, indicating that the Lagos state government has approved the sum of N61,285,000 for the “mass burial” of 103 people who died during the 2020 #EndSARS protests in the state.
The letter caused alot of reactions on social media with many bewildering the government’s denial of any death during the #EndSARS over the past and the facts contained in the letter.
However, in a statement released on Sunday, the state government has stated that no deceased individual was recovered from the Lekki toll-gate area as a result of the protest.
The statement was signed by Olusegun Ogboye, permanent secretary, Lagos ministry of health.
The Leaked Letter
The details of the contract approval were contained in a letter of no objection signed by Onafowote Idowu, director-general of the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency.
The contract was awarded to Messers TOS Funeral Limited.
The letter, dated July 19, 2023, was addressed to the permanent secretary of the Lagos ministry of health.
“Following review of your request and based on the information provided therein, the agency had “no objection” to the award of contract to Messrs TOS Funeral Limited at a total cost of N61,285,000 (sixty-one million, two hundred and eighty-five thousand naira) only for the mass burial for the 103, the year of 2020 EndSARS victims,” the letter reads.
See the letter below:
Mass Burial for Victims of ENDSARS Protest, Not Victims of Lekkk Toll Gate – Lagos Gov’t
Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, in the statement, said the 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from violence that occured during the ENDSARS protest and “NOT from Lekki Toll-gate.”
Ogboye maintained that the 103 bodies were picked up after the violent #EndSARS protests and other clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of the state, as well as a jailbreak at Ikoyi prison.
The statement reads: “It is public knowledge that the year 2020 #EndSARS crisis that snowballed into violence in many parts of Lagos recorded casualties in different areas of the state and NOT from the Lekki Toll Gate, as being inferred in the mischievous publications.
“For the records, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos State, including a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison.
“The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and NOT from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, no body was retrieved from the Lekki Toll Gate incident.
“While the Lagos State government would not have dignified the mischievous elements peddling such news with a response, we consider it appropriate to set the records straight and draw the attention of well-meaning citizens to the antics of some unscrupulous elements who are bent on disrupting the peace and tranquillity of Lagos with distorted news and half-truth about the letter.
“In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the Office of the Chief Coroner invited the public, through adverts and announcements who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between October 19 and 27, 2020, from various clashes as mentioned above, to contact the department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), to help with identification of these casualties deposited in state-owned morgues. Relatives were to undergo DNA tests for identification purposes. It is important to state categorically that nobody responded to claim any of the bodies.
“However, after almost three years, the bodies remain unclaimed, adding to the congestion of the morgues. This spurred the need to decongest the morgues – a procedure that follows very careful medical and legal guidelines in the event that a relative may still turn up to claim a lost relative years after the incident. Decongestion of our public morgues is a periodic and regular exercise approved by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to free up space in mortuaries that have a large number of unclaimed bodies.”
’99 PEOPLE KILLED DURING #EndSARS PROTEST — BUT THREE FROM LEKKI’
According to a CABLE report, John Obafunwa, consultant pathologist to the state government, on June 6, 2021, told the #EndSARS judicial panel that out of a total of 99 bodies examined for autopsy after the protest, three were from Lekki.
Obafunwa said the remaining bodies were received from other parts of the state, including Surulere, Ikorodu, Ajah, and Fagba, among others.
Some days later, the pathologist submitted autopsy reports of the 99 persons killed during the protest
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