The Lagos State Coroner has asked members of the public to come forward to identify persons who were declared missing between October 19 and 27, 2020.
This period covers the days before and after the shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate in the state.
This request was made in an announcement titled, ‘Coroner’s call for the identification of missing persons’, which was signed by the Office of the Chief Coroner, Lagos State.
In the announcement, those affected were asked to proceed to the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital for the identification exercise of “the deceased”.
It said after a scientific identification, the remains of “the deceased shall be released to the next-of-kin for burial”.
The announcement was however silent on whether the deceased were killed at the Lekki toll plaza on October 20, 2020.
The notice did not also state if the victims’ deaths were related to the #EndSARS protest.
“This is to notify the General Public that the Chief Coroner of Lagos State, Hon Justice M. A. Dada (Mrs.) pursuant to Section 15, Coroner’s System Law of Lagos State, 2015 the Pathology Team would want all those who have lost loved ones between 19th – 27th October 2020 (that is, next-of-kin of the victims) to provide relevant information that would assist the identification exercise.
The next-of-kin should kindly contact the Department of Pathology and Forensic Medicine, Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Oba Akinjobi Way, Ikeja for the identification exercise of the Deceased.
“The next-of-kin will be required to provide means of identification of themselves and their loved ones. Nationally recognized means of identification such as passport, Driver’s license, National ID card or LASSRA ID Card shall be accepted.
“Only the parents, siblings or children, in that decreasing order of preference are expected to come to LASUTH. The hours of visit shall be from 10:00am to 2:00pm for the next two (2) weeks starting from the date of this Announcement.
“Please note that these next-of-kin shall be required to come with the following: clear photographs of the missing person; their own upper body photographs; and also provide samples for Reference DNA Profile, where necessary.
“This profile will be compared with those already collected at autopsy from the deceased. It is only after a definitive scientific identification that the Bodies of the deceased shall be released by the Office of the Chief Coroner to the next-of-kin for burial.”
Nigerian youths embarked on #EndSARS protests to vent their anger against the brutality of a notorious unit created to tackle violent crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping and banditry. The unit soon morphed into a murderous squad, with rampant cases of killings, extortion, and torture.
The protest turned bloody on the night of October 20, 2020, when men in military attire opened fire on the unarmed protesters, who had occupied the Lekki Tollgate, in Lagos.
CNN claims in a report it just released that some families had confirmed that their members were at the scene of the shooting that night, and that such persons had not been seen since then.
CNN shows in the report bodies of some people drenched in blood and wrapped Nigerian flag stained in blood. It also claims that it has satellite images showing when the troops that shot at the protesters left their base in Victoria Island, and also the caliber and country of origin of the bullets used by the soldiers.
The Nigerian government has consistently denied that its soldiers shot at any of the protesters.
Reacting to CNN’s report Thursday, Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, dismissed CNN’s report, describing the alleged Lekki shooting as ‘massacre without bodies’.
