The Lagos State Government has clarified allegations of Mass Burial plan for casualties of the 2020 #EndSars incident describing it as deliberate misinterpretation and sensationalizing of a letter emanating from the state’s Public Procurement Agency titled: Letter of No Objection to Mass Burial for the 103, the Year 2020 ENDSARS victims.
In a statement signed by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health Doctor Olusegun Ogboye said the crisis during ENDSARS led to violence recorded in many parts of the state and not from Lekki Toll Gate only
The statement added “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. There was also a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison and that the 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and Not from Lekki Toll-gate as being alleged”
The permanent secretary said the #EndSARs Panel subpoenaed the Lagos State chief pathologist to produce full records of unclaimed bodies of the dead deposited with state central morgue during the days immediately preceding and following the event at Lekki tollgate on 20/10/20 which was at the request of lawyers who represented #EndSARS Protesters.
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The statement also noted that there was not a single finding in the white paper attributing the death of any named citizen listed in the autopsy to the Lekki incident and that the office of the Chief Coroner, invited members of the public through public adverts who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between 19th and 27th October 2020 from various clashes to contact the department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine of the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) to help with identification of the casualties deposited in State-owned morgues and that nobody responded to claim any of the bodies.
The State Government noted that after almost three years, that the bodies in the morgues were unclaimed, it became necessary to decongest the morgues through due processes.
(Editor: Paul Akhagbemhe)
