The Lagos State Government has officially confirmed plans for a mass burial of 103 victims of the 2020 #EndSARS incident, vehemently denying any association with the Lekki Tollgate shooting.
In a statement issued by Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, the government clarified the misconceptions surrounding the burial arrangements.
The statement, titled “Re: MASS BURIAL OF ENDSARS VICTIMS (MISCHIEF MAKERS AT WORK)” addressed recent social media publications about the burial plans and emphasized that those responsible for the leaked memo were deliberately misinterpreting the facts.
While acknowledging the circulating rumors, the Lagos State Government asserted that the victims to be buried were not from the Lekki Tollgate incident, contrary to the misinformation being spread.
The memo in question, dated July 19, 2023, from the Lagos State Government Public Procurement Agency, titled “Letter of No Objection — Mass Burial for the 103, the Year 2020 ENDSARS victims,” had triggered speculation on social media platforms.
However, the government set the record straight, stating that the casualties mentioned in the memo resulted from the 2020 #EndSARS crisis that led to widespread violence in several areas across Lagos. These areas include Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo, Ajah, and the site of a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison.
The statement reads, “The attention of the Lagos State Government has been drawn to some social media publications about a purported mass burial plan for casualties of the 2020 #EndSARS incident. Peddlers of the news are deliberately misinterpreting and sensationalising a letter from the Lagos State Government Public Procurement Agency titled: Letter of No Objection — Mass Burial for the 103, the Year 2020 ENDSARS victims, to misinform the public, stir public sentiment and cause public disaffection against the Lagos State Government.
“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 hell-bent on disrupting the peace and tranquillity of Lagos with distorted news and half-truths about the PPA letter.
“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 alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, nobody was retrieved from the Lekki Toll Gate incident.
“In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the office of the Chief Coroner invited members of the public Throughout public adverts and announcement who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between 19th and 27th October 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 mortuaries. 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 mortuaries. This spurred the need to decongest the mortuaries, 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.”
