The Lagos State Government has responded to a leaked memo disclosing its clearance of N61,285,000 for the mass burial of 103 people listed as 2020 EndSARS victims, claiming that the victims to be buried are not from the notorious Lekki Tollgate incident.
The memo, dated July 19, 2023, capturing processes for the processing of cash after approval by the governor, appeared on social media Sunday morning, generating indignation.
Dr Olusegun Ogboye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, verified the letter in a statement on Sunday evening, but argued that facts were being misunderstood.
The government official claimed that the victims were victims of violence that occurred in the aftermath of the EndSARS protests.
Ogboye stated that the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) collected up bodies in the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence and community conflicts.
The localities mentioned included Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo, and Ajah in Lagos State. Ogboye also mentioned a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison.
“The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were caused by these incidents, not the alleged Lekki Toll-gate.” “For the avoidance of doubt, no body was recovered from the Lekki Toll Gate incident,” the statement said.
See the complete statement below:
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STATE GOVERNMENT OF LAGOS
THE MINISTERY OF HEALTH
STATEMENT TO THE PRESS
RE: ENDSARS VICTIMS MASS BURIAL (MISCHIEF MAKERS AT WORK).
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The Lagos State Government has been alerted to several social media postings claiming a mass burial plan for victims of the 2020 #EndSARS event. To misinform the public, stir public sentiment, and cause public disaffection against the Lagos State Government, news peddlers 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.
The year 2020 #EndSARS crisis that snowballed into violence in various sections of Lagos reported casualties in many locations of the State and NOT from the Lekki Toll Gate as mischievous media assumed.
For the record, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit (SEHMU) collected bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community confrontations in the Lagos State communities of Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo, and Ajah. A jailbreak also occurred in Ikoyi Prison. The 103 casualties indicated in the record were caused by actual accidents, not the phantom Lekki Toll-gate. To be clear, no body was recovered from the Lekki Toll Gate event.
Contrary to the deceptive narrative woven around the recently approved mass burial, the #EndSARs Panel subpoenaed the Lagos State chief pathologist to produce full records of unclaimed bodies of the dead deposited with the state central mortuary during the days preceding and following the event at Lekki tollgate on 20/10/20. The list was formally submitted and testified to before the panel, along with autopsies showing proved causes and circumstances of death. The chief pathologist complied with the subpoena issued at the request of lawyers representing #EndSARS demonstrators. There was not a single finding in the report or subsequent white paper that linked the death of any of the identifiable citizens listed in the autopsy to the Lekki incident.
In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the office of the Chief Coroner invited members of the public who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between the 19th and 27th of 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) for assistance. DNA testing were to be performed on relatives in order to identify them. It is critical to emphasise unequivocally that no one responded to the claim of any of the bodies.
However, the bodies have remained unclaimed for nearly three years, contributing to the morgue’s overcrowding. This prompted the need to decongest the mortuaries, a method that adheres to strict medical and legal rules in the event that a relative returns years later to claim a lost relative.
As a result, the government is pleading with social media rumour mongers to kindly give the bereaved families of unclaimed loved ones the closure they deserve.
Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, will retire on July 23, 2023.
