The Lagos State Government has issued a statement clarifying reports regarding the mass burial of 103 victims of the EndSARS incident. According to the government, the reports circulating on social media about the mass burial plan at Lekki toll gate are misleading and false. The victims were from various areas of the state affected by the 2020 EndSARS crisis, not specifically from Lekki toll gate, where the shooting allegations occurred.
The Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) collected bodies from different locations, including Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo, and Ajah areas of Lagos, as well as from the Ikoyi Prison during the jailbreak incident. The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were related to these incidents, not the Lekki Toll-gate.
After the violence, the Chief Coroner's office invited the public to claim the bodies of their loved ones through public adverts and announcements. However, nobody responded to claim any of the bodies, leading to the bodies remaining unclaimed for almost three years. Consequently, the government decided to decongest the morgues, following careful medical and legal guidelines in case any relatives still come forward to claim the bodies.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu approved the periodic and regular decongestion of public morgues to free up space for unclaimed bodies. The government aims to set the record straight to prevent the spread of misinformation and maintain peace and tranquility in Lagos.
The statement reads in full;
RE: MASS BURIAL OF ENDSARS VICTIMS (MISCHIEF MAKERS AT WORK)
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 sensationalizing 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 tranquility of Lagos with distorted news and half-truth 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 being alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, no body 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 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
