November 28, 2021

[GIST] BREAKING: #EndSARS Report: SERAP, 116 Nigerians Sue Buhari, Seek Court Order Compelling Arrest Of Suspects

[GIST] BREAKING: #EndSARS Report: SERAP, 116 Nigerians Sue Buhari, Seek Court Order Compelling Arrest Of Suspects

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The Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) and 116 concerned Nigerians have filed a lawsuit asking the Federal High Court in Abuja to compel President Muhammadu Buhari to arrest soldiers and police officers responsible for the assault and killing of peaceful #EndSARS protesters in 2020.

The group and the Nigerians are asking the court to “direct and compel President Muhammadu Buhari to take immediate steps to ensure the arrest of soldiers and police officers indicted by the Lagos #EndSARS panel report for the shooting of peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll-gate, and police brutality cases.”

In the suit number FHC/ABJ/CS/1482/2021 filed last Friday, SERAP is also asking the court to “direct and compel President Buhari to bring to justice anyone suspected to be responsible for the shooting of peaceful protesters, and to ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims, including adequate compensation.”

This was disclosed in a statement by the Deputy Director of SERAP, Kolawole Oluwadare on Sunday.

In the suit, SERAP is arguing that: “It is in the interest of justice to grant this application, as it would improve respect for Nigerians’ rights, the rule of law, and public confidence in government institutions, as well as reduce the growing culture of impunity of perpetrators.”

Also according to SERAP, impunity for crimes committed against protesters in the country is growing and failure to bring perpetrators of the crimes to justice will further embolden them.

“A failure to bring to justice those indicted for the shooting of peaceful protesters is, in itself, a violation of the rights to life and human dignity,” it added.

SERAP said, “The flagrant lack of accountability for past violations of the rights of protesters has given rise to a growing sense of powerlessness, and resentment not only among victims and their families but among the general public.

 “The failure to promptly arrest, and bring to justice those suspected to be responsible for the shooting of peaceful protesters, and to ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims and their families amounts to a travesty of justice, as justice delayed is justice denied.”

SERAP is also seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to ensure that those still being detained solely for peacefully exercising their human rights are immediately and unconditionally released, and all charges against them are dropped.”

It is further seeking “an order of mandamus to direct and compel President Buhari to ensure full and effective respect for the human rights of everyone across the country, including the rights to life, dignity, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association.”

Joined in the suit as Respondent is the Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami, SAN.

The suit filed on behalf of SERAP by its lawyers Kolawole Oluwadare and Opeyemi Owolabi reads in part: “The Buhari administration has the constitutional responsibility to allow victims of human rights violations to find out the truth in regard to acts committed, to know who the perpetrators of such acts are, and to obtain justice and adequate compensation.”

 It further reads, “The General Assembly of the United Nations adopted a set of principles relating to states’ obligations to the victims of serious violations of international human rights law that makes clear that states are obligated to investigate violations of international human rights law thoroughly and impartially, and where appropriate, take action against those allegedly responsible. 

“States also have the duty to investigate and, if there is sufficient evidence, the duty to submit to prosecution the person allegedly responsible for violations.

“President Buhari has a constitutional duty, being the Chief Executive Officer of the Federation and the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces, to ensure access to justice and effective remedies for victims, and that there is no impunity for allegations of human rights violations.

The suit followed the submission of the Lagos #EndSARS panel report on the Lekki shooting incident and police brutality cases to the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. The leaked report is said to have indicted some soldiers and police officers for “the shooting of protesters, leading to grievous injuries and deaths”.

The panel reportedly found that “the shooting of protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020, was unwarranted, excessive, provocative and unjustifiable in the circumstances of the state of the protests, which was peaceful and orderly.”

No date has been fixed for the hearing of the suit.

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[GIST] Kidnappers Abduct Divisional Police Officer In Edo, Demand N50million Ransom

[GIST] Kidnappers Abduct Divisional Police Officer In Edo, Demand N50million Ransom

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The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Fugar Police Division, CSP Ibrahim Aliyu Ishaq, has been kidnapped around Ise River along old Auchi – Ekperi-Agenebode road in Edo State.

It was learnt that the kidnappers had contacted the family of the police officer for ransom payment.

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CSP Ishaq, before his deployment some years ago, had served as DPO in Dakata Police Division in Kano State.

According to Vanguard, it was gathered that the police boss was travelling with his orderly, Friday evening, when they were attacked by the kidnappers.

A source close to the police said: “He was coming from Agenebode to Fugar and he passed through Ekperi Road and they were attacked. He was kidnapped but his orderly escaped and the kidnappers have made contact this morning and they are demanding N50million. The incident happened around 6.30 pm on Friday.”

As of the time of filing this report, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) in Edo State was yet to respond to a text message sent to him.

But it was gathered that the Commissioner of Police, Philip Ogbadu. had ordered immediate deployment of men of the Anti-Kidnapping and Cyber Crime unit, men of the Tactical and Srike teams of the state Police Command to move to the area to rescue the DPO unhurt.

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November 27, 2021

[GIST] 78-year-old Man Kills Brother, 94, With Cutlass Over Land Dispute In Ogun

[GIST] 78-year-old Man Kills Brother, 94, With Cutlass Over Land Dispute In Ogun

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The Ogun State Police Command has arrested a 78-year-old man, Moshood Habibu, for allegedly hacking his brother, Salisu Surakatu, aged 94, to death over land matters.

Habibu was said to have stormed his brother’s house at Kara Ewumi village Mowe, Ogun State, on Wednesday after which a disagreement ensued between him and the nonagenarian over the land.

The suspect reportedly got enraged and attacked the aged man with a cutlass, killing him in the process.

The Ogun State police spokesperson, Abimbola Oyeyemi, confirmed the incident, saying Habibu was arrested by the CSP Saminu Akintunde-led team after the incident was reported at Mowe police station by Amino Tajudeen, said to be a son of the deceased.

“On interrogation, the suspect claimed that the deceased sold a plot from their family land and didn’t give him his own share of the proceeds, and that he went there that morning to demand for his own share which led to hot argument between them,” Oyeyemi said.

The police spokesman explained that the suspect had gone to the deceased man’s house with a cutlass, but the nonagenarian, who was visually impaired, did not know he was with a cutlass.

“While the deceased was asking him to leave his house, he descended heavily on him and matcheted him to death,” the police said.

The suspect would be transferred to the homicide section of the state CIID as ordered by the Commissioner of Police, Lanre Bankole, Oyeyemi disclosed.

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[GIST] Zamfara Governor Announces Lifting Of Telecoms’ Ban In 48 Hours Amid Worsening Banditry

[GIST] Zamfara Governor Announces Lifting Of Telecoms’ Ban In 48 Hours Amid Worsening Banditry

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Governor Bello Matawalle has announced that the ban on telecommunication networks in Zamfara State will be lifted on Tuesday.

The telecommunication services were disrupted in the state on September 4 as part of the stringent measures to contain the raging armed banditry and kidnapping plaguing the state.

Zamfara State Governor Bello Matawalle

However the services were restored to Gusau, the state capital a month later.

According to Daily Trust, speaking during the election of the executive council members of the All Progressive Congress at the state party congress, Matawalle said telecommunication services would be restored and the ban on weekly market activities would be lifted.

“From the information we have gotten, there is clear reduction in the surge of crimes in our communities and by Monday or Tuesday, everyone in our communities would be able to communicate with the outside world.

“We are taking right steps to ensure the criminals have no breathing space. If we are suffering, they are suffering too. The social and economic well-being of the people affected by our measures will be normalised,” Matawalle said.

Despite the ban on telecommunications in parts of Zamfara, the attacks did not abate as bandits started collecting levies and taxes from communities and abducting those who refused to pay them.

The bandits had further been setting fire to farmlands and harassing farmers who refused to pay the levies imposed on their communities.

SaharaReporters had on Friday reported that the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) approved the immediate restoration of telecommunications services for communities in Kaduna State where they had initially been shut down.

A message from the NCC to Kaduna State Government obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday had said the approval had been granted with immediate effect.

It said, "Approval is hereby granted for you to restore telecom services in the following LGAs of Kaduna State with immediate effect. Birnin Gwari, Giwa, Igabi, Chukun, Kajuru, Kachia, Kagarko. Please you are required to confirm to the Commission the implementation of this directive as soon as is completed.” 

The state government had earlier announced that it had lifted its two-month ban on mobile phone services.

This is due to recent attacks by bandits along the Kaduna-Abuja Road despite the ban.

The state government through the Commissioner of Internal Security and Home Affairs, Samuel Aruwan, had announced the development earlier on Friday.

Aruwan said the relevant government agency in charge of telecommunications had been directed to lift the ban.

However, Aruwan said other measures initiated to tackle banditry like the ban on motorcycles, weekly markets, selling of fuel in kegs would remain in force.

The state government had asked telecommunications firms to suspend their services in the state from September 30, towards checking the activities of bandits.

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[GIST] New Report Confirms Massacre Of #EndSARS Protesters At Lekki By Soldiers, Police, Urges International Court To Prosecute Perpetrators

[GIST] New Report Confirms Massacre Of #EndSARS Protesters At Lekki By Soldiers, Police, Urges International Court To Prosecute Perpetrators

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Most of the findings by the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to investigate police brutality and also the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020 by personnel of the Nigerian Army and policemen, have been validated by a new report.

The 12-page document containing testimonies of victims and witnesses including detailed analysis of the events surrounding the massacre by experts in various fields, was carried out and released by Olukayode Dada, a partner with Udo Udoma & Belo-Osagie law firm based in Lagos.

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Dada, who is an expert in dispute resolution, compliance and investigations, in the report stated that the Lagos State Government, Federal Government and military authorities all knew of the brutal killing of young Nigerians at the Lekki Toll Gate ahead of the incident.

According to the report, the activities of soldiers deployed to the scene of the peaceful demonstration and later policemen from the Maroko Division on the night of October 20, 2020, sufficiently qualified as crimes against humanity and therefore should be investigated by the International Criminal Court in light of the Nigerian Government's unwillingness to act on the findings and recommendations of the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry.

The report stated that though a Nigerian court can try soldiers indicted in the panel's finding, the military authorities in the country are unlikely to offer the type of cooperation needed for such to take place.

At least nine persons were confirmed to have been killed by security agents deployed to the scene while several others were left with life-threatening injuries, according to the panel's findings.

SaharaReporters had exclusively reported how soldiers moved several bodies away from the scene of the massacre in their vans to a hospital in Lagos in order to conceal the killings.

Soldiers deployed for the mission told relatives of victims that they were sent by the Lagos State governor to violently quell the protest.

The document released by Dada partly read, "While there had been killings and harassment of #EndSARS protesters demonstrating police brutality and bad governance by Nigerian security forces across the country prior to the toll gate killings, the Lekki Toll Gate attacks/killings stood out because of the brazenness of the killings and bravery of protesters (including DJ Switch, a popular Nigerian disc jockey) who risked their lives to provide live feeds of the attacks. 

"Without question, the killings and brutalisation of unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate constitute crimes against humanity. The totality of the circumstances regarding the #EndSARS protests, and the toll gate killings/attacks validate this conclusion. 

"Government actions to stop the protests culminated in the attacks on unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, a location where the protests had been peaceful since the commencement of the nationwide protests.

"It is unlikely that the Nigerian Government (whose officers and agents are the accused in this matter) would refer those officers and agents to the ICC. 

"The Lekki Toll Gate killings is not also the subject of any deliberations before the UN Security Council. The ICC Prosecutor, is therefore, entitled to initiate an investigation into the killings proprio motu. There are sufficient grounds for the Prosecutor to initiate a proprio motu investigation in respect of the Lekki Toll Gate killings. The ICC has both subject matter and personal jurisdiction in this matter. 

"The investigation, prosecution and trial of crimes against humanity fall within the jurisdictional purview of the ICC, and the accused persons are natural persons. The scale, nature, manner and impact of the crimes are of such severity that an investigation by the ICC is warranted. 

"Based on the totality of the circumstances, it is in the interests of justice for this matter to proceed at the ICC. 

"Despite ample evidence, the Federal Government of Nigeria has not initiated any formal investigation or prosecution of the soldiers and policemen involved in the killings at the Lekki Toll Gate. 

"While the Lagos State Government set up the JPI to investigate the killings, the Lagos State Government does not control the Nigeria Army and the Nigeria Police. The Lagos State Government cannot, therefore, impose and enforce sanctions against the erring soldiers and policemen. 

"Although under Nigerian law, civil courts (e.g., the High Court) may try criminal law offences committed by a serving member of the military, in reality, the likelihood that a serving member of the military would be tried in a civil court depends largely (if not, solely) on the cooperation of military authorities. 

"It appears that the military authorities and the Federal Government of Nigeria have little or no interest conducting any meaningful investigation in this matter and/or achieving justice for the victims of the killings.

"Crimes against humanity occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020. Reports of several investigations including the investigations conducted by CNN, Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch and the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up the Lagos State Government to investigate the incident, as well as eyewitness accounts and ample photographic and video evidence clearly establish that soldiers and policemen engaged in coordinated, systematic and premeditated attacks against unarmed civil population, which led to deaths and injuries.

"Despite the evidence, the Federal Government of Nigeria has failed to initiate any meaningful investigation of the incident, but has instead engaged in efforts to discredit the reports issued by the organisations, while not offering any evidence in rebuttal of the facts set out in those reports. 

The Killings of Unarmed Endsars Protesters at Lekki Toll Gate Were They Crimes Against Humanity by Sahara Reporters on Scribd

"It is evident that the Federal Government of Nigeria is unwilling to investigate, and/or achieve justice for the victims of the attacks/killings.

 

"Nigeria is a party to the Rome Statute, and all the conditions for the ICC to assume jurisdiction in this matter, and to, in the least, conduct a preliminary examination and a formal investigation are present. 

"Unless the international community brings pressure to bear on the Federal Government of Nigeria, it is unlikely that there will ever be accountability for the persons who attacked and killed unarmed protesters at the Toll Gate, and for the persons who gave the orders for the attacks."

The Nigerian Government and officials of Lagos Government have been working tirelessly to discredit the findings of the panel that investigated the massacre of unarmed protesters at Lekki last year since the report surfaced.

Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, described the report as "fake and full of errors" earlier in the week while a member of the panel, Ebun Olu-Adegboruwa, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, has alleged threat to his life by agents of Lagos State Government.

Earlier this week, Miss Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, who took active part in the nationwide protest last year, was attacked for testifying before the #EndSARS judicial panel in Lagos State.

Other persons in support of the panel report and calling for the prosecution of perpetrators have also alleged threat to their lives.

The United States, United Nations, European Union, Amnesty International and several other groups around the world have all called for persons indicted by the panel report to be punished for their role in the killing of peaceful demonstrators at Lekki in October 2020.

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