The panel sat for well over one year and took testimonies of petitioners, witnesses, experts and lawyers.
The Lagos State Judicial Panel on #EndSARS has revealed that Nigerian soldiers shot live ammunition at peaceful protesters at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos last year and also prevented ambulances from taking their victims away for treatment.
The panel, therefore, described the act as "cruel" and "inhuman".
Meanwhile, the Muhammadu Buhari-led Nigerian government, mostly through its Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has vehemently denied the atrocities committed by the Nigerian Army and the police against peaceful protesters at the tollgate, the epicentre of the #EndSARS protest.
The Nigerian Army had also repeatedly denied firing live ammunition at peaceful protesters but the report of the Lagos panel has confirmed the deceit of the government and the army.
The panel was inaugurated on October 19, 2020, to look into complaints of citizens against human rights abuses by the police.
Following the incident at the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020, the Terms of Reference of the panel was expanded to cover that incident.[story_link align="left"]101243[/story_link]
The panel sat for well over one year and took testimonies of petitioners, witnesses, experts and lawyers.
In its report obtained by SaharaReporters on Monday, the panel revealed that the Nigerian army and police operatives indeed opened fire on #EndSARS protesters on the night of October 20, 2020, and killed some of them.
Last year, security operatives had stormed the Lekki tollgate in Lagos and started shooting at youths protesting against police brutality.
But the Nigerian army and police had dismissed the claim that they shot live bullets at the protesters.
However, in the report, the panel said, "Officers and soldiers of 65 Batallion of the Nigerian Army, led by Lt. Col (S. O.) Bello, left their base with blank and live ammunition to confront and disperse youths holding only their national flags, with live bullets; [story_link align="left"]101222[/story_link]
"The soldiers actually shot blank and live bullets directly and pointedly into the midst of the protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, with the deliberate intention to assault, maim and kill;
"The soldiers turned back ambulances that were invited to render first aid and assistance to the wounded protesters."
In another section of the report, the panel noted, "The denial of ambulances by the soldiers, which could have assisted in the prompt and effective treatment of injured protesters, was cruel and inhuman and it contributed immensely to the large number of deaths
and casualties on the part of the protesters, especially those from the Lekki Toll Gate.
"The Panel finds the cases of death or injured protesters as credible and uncontroverted."