The Lagos State government has urged the public to disregard the purported plans to conduct a mass burial for the casualties of the 2020 #EndSARS incident.
This came after a letter surfaced on social media, indicating that the Lagos State government had allocated the sum of N61,285,000 for the burial of 103 individuals who lost their lives during the 2020 #EndSARS protests in the state. The leaked letter sparked varied reactions on social media, leading to speculation and confusion among the public.
However, the state government categorically dismissed these claims as the handiwork of mischief makers seeking to misinform and stir public sentiment against the state.
This was disclosed in a statement released by Olusegun Ogboye, the Permanent Secretary of the Lagos Ministry of Health, on Sunday.
He explained that the bodies of these individuals had remained unclaimed for almost three years since the tragic events of the #EndSARS protests.
In the statement, the Lagos government confirmed that it intended to conduct a “mass burial” for the 103 bodies that were recovered during and after the #EndSARS protests.
The state government said the corpses were retrieved from many parts of the state, including Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo, and Ajah. Additionally, the chaos following the protests also resulted in a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison.
Clarifying the misinformation, the government emphasized that none of the 103 bodies mentioned in the document were retrieved from the Lekki toll gate incident, as incorrectly suggested in some social media publications
“For the records, the Lagos State Environmental Health Unit picked up bodies in the aftermath of #EndSARS violence and community clashes at Fagba, Ketu, Ikorodu, Orile, Ajegunle, Abule-Egba, Ikeja, Ojota, Ekoro, Ogba, Isolo and Ajah areas of Lagos state,” the statement reads.
“There was also a jailbreak at Ikoyi Prison. The 103 casualties mentioned in the document were from these incidents and NOT from Lekki Toll-gate as alleged. For the avoidance of doubt, nobody was retrieved from the Lekki toll gate incident.
“In the aftermath of the #EndSARS violence, the office of the chief coroner invited members of the public through public adverts and announcements (November 18, 2020, Punch and November 19, 2020, THISDAY) who had lost loved ones or whose relatives had been declared missing between 19th and 27th 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) to help with identification of these casualties deposited in state-owned morgues.
“Relatives were to undergo DNA tests for identification purposes. It is important to state categorically that nobody responded to claim any of the bodies.
“However, after almost three years, the bodies remain unclaimed, adding to the congestion of the morgues. This spurred the need to decongest the morgues. This procedure follows cautious medical and legal guidelines if a relative may still turn up to claim a lost relative years after the incident.”
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