ABUJA(Sundiata Post) – Human rights organisation, Amnesty International, on Sunday, condemned the arrest of the #EndSARS memorial protesters.
Police authorities clamped down on the demonstrators who gathered at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos on Sunday to mark the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS protest. The memorial was to remember those who lost their lives during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in October 2020.
The youths were said to have gathered around 8:30 am at the toll gate with several banners and placards. They demanded the full implementation of the reports submitted by various judicial panels of inquiry set up after the 2020 protests.
In a terse statement, Amnesty International described the action by the Lagos State Police Command as unacceptable.
“Amnesty International condemns the Nigeria police for the violent attack on people who assembled at Lekki Toll Gate to honour peaceful protesters killed during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in Oct. 2020. The reckless use of tear gas and arrests are unacceptable,” the group said on X.
Earlier, a human rights lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, accused operatives of the Lagos State Police Command of arresting about 18 activists, including Comrade Taiwo Soweto.
Amnesty International condemns the Nigeria police for the violent attack on people who assembled at Lekki Toll Gate to honour peaceful protesters killed during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in Oct. 2020. The reckless use of tear gas and arrests are unacceptable.
He described the protest as peaceful and alleged that police brutalised some protesters and detained some at the State Criminal Investigation Department in Yaba, Lagos.
According to him, the actions of police operatives were unconstitutional and unacceptable.
“Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto and 17 other activists have been arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate,” he wrote on X.
“They were brutalized and are currently being detained in State CID Panti by the police for commemorating the memorial of the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre.
“They were entirely peaceful and did not disrupt public peace in anyway. We will do everything under the law to secure their release. This is unconstitutional and unacceptable.”
Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto and 17 other activists have been arrested at the Lekki Toll Gate.
They were brutalized and are currently being detained in State CID Panti by the police for commemorating the memorial of the Lekki Toll Gate Massacre.
