By Libby George
LAGOS (Reuters) -The Nigerian Army fired live rounds at peaceful protesters at a toll gate in Lagos in October 2020, according to a leaked report into the incident seen by Reuters and verified by three sources close to the panel that drafted it.
The report described the incident as a “massacre”, said most of the army officers deployed to the Lekki Toll Gate were “not fit and proper to serve” and recommended prosecuting certain policemen for their actions.
“At the Lekki Toll Gate, officers of the Nigerian Army shot, injured and killed unarmed helpless and defenceless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem and the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre,” the report said.
Spokesmen for the military, police and Lagos state government did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Both the military and police had previously denied firing live rounds.
The judicial panel tasked with investigating the incident, as well as abuses from the now-abolished Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) police division, released the report to the Lagos state government on Monday, but it was not immediately made public.
The report also said that there was an attempt to cover up the incident, including by police officers who picked up bullets and state agencies who cleaned the scene.
The Lagos state government said on Monday that it would release a “white paper” on the report within two weeks.
(Reporting by Libby George; Editing by Catherine Evans and Alex Richardson)
