Based on a year-long inquiry into abuses by police forces and the killings at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, a leaked judicial report has found that Nigeria’s army and police shot and killed unarmed anti-police brutality protesters in October last year, before cleaning up the scene to remove evidence.
The report described the incident as a “massacre,” and said most of the army officers deployed to the toll gate were “not fit and proper to serve,” and recommended prosecuting certain policemen for their actions. Forty-eight casualties in total were identified.
Last year’s demonstrations against the police’s Special Anti-Robbery Squad (Sars), police brutality more broadly, and bad governance led to disbandment of the Sars unit. Despite reforms, Sars officers accused of violence have not been held to account but rather moved into other parts of the police infrastructure.
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