The Lagos State Government has finally bowed to pressures from Nigerians by suspending its scheduled mass burial of the 103 corpses recovered in the wake of the October 2020 #EndSARS protest, News About Nigeria reports.
This was disclosed by the Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso.
According to him, the planned mass burial was suspended following the controversies generated by the announcement in July this year.
In a leaked memo dated July 19, 2023, the Lagos state government said it would conduct a mass burial for the 103 corpses.
Their announcement had raised controversies among human rights campaigners and civil society organizations who vehemently kicked against the planned mass burial.
A human rights organisation, Amnesty International, and a group under the aegis of the Coalition of #EndSARS Protesters and Supporters had demanded that the state government suspend the planned mass burial.
In addition to the suspension demand, Amnesty International had asked the government to “also carry out transparent coroner inquest and autopsies on the 103 #EndSARS victims.”
In response to their demands, the Lagos state government, through the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Mr Gboyega Akosile, had said that the government would ensure they follow global best practices in carrying out the mass burial.
However, the recent development from the Commissioner for Information and Strategy is that the planned mass burial has been suspended to enable the families and relatives of the corpses to identify them.
He said: “It is to allow more time for identification as suggested when it was disclosed that the government was planning a mass burial for them.”
Omotoso further revealed that regardless of the government’s suspension of the burial to allow the people identify their relatives among the dead bodies, nobody has shown up to identify any of the corpses, but the government has decided to give people more time.
He also revealed that the planned burial would “be carried out soon, but because of the controversies around that time, it was suspended. People now have the time and ample opportunity to see if their relatives are there.”
