The President Joe Biden-led administration in the United States has acknowledged the National Economic Council chaired by Vice-President Yemi Osinbajo and the council’s efforts in ensuring that victims of police brutality get justice.
Following the nationwide protests against men of the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad in October 2020, the Osinbajo-led council had recommended the formation of judicial panels of inquiry by states to enable accurate investigation into the alleged brutality by the ex-SARS operatives.
About 30 states including the Federal Capital Territory and Lagos State set up the panels while scores of victims of police brutality have been served justice through compensations, amongst others.
The US Department of States in a report titled, ‘2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Nigeria’, recognised thus, “Of the states, 28 and the FCT established judicial panels of inquiry to investigate allegations of human rights violations carried out by the Nigerian Police Force and the disbanded SARS units.
“The panels were made up of a diverse group of civil society representatives, government officials, lawyers, youth, and protesters with the task of reviewing complaints submitted by the public and making recommendations to their respective state government on sanctions for human rights violations and proposed compensation for victims. The work of the judicial panels continued at year’s end.”
The Report also exonerated the Nigerian Army of any killings at the #EndSARS protest ground at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos. Soldiers, who had gone to the tollgate to enforce a curfew imposed by the state government on October 20, 2020, had been accused of killing protesters but the US report said such claim was untrue and unverified.
By its Report, the US dismissed claims by several international rights groups such as Amnesty International; as well as reports by some western media like the Cable News Network that soldiers killed protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20 last year.
The US Report partly read, “On October 20, members of the security forces enforced curfew by firing shots into the air to disperse protesters, who had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos to protest abusive practices by the Nigerian Police Force’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
“Accurate information on fatalities resulting from the shooting was not available at year’s end.
“Amnesty International reported 10 persons died during the event, but the government disputed Amnesty’s report, and no other organization was able to verify the claim.”
