It, however, added noted that there was an attempt to cover up the incident, saying a government agency cleaned bloodstains and other evidence at the scene.
The Lagos State Judicial Panel on #EndSARS has revealed that an agency of the state government wiped off evidence at Lekki tollgate following the "massacre" of peaceful protesters by soldiers and police operatives.
It also described the attack on peaceful protesters at the tollgate as a massacre, saying, "The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters, while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags, while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a ‘massacre’ in context."
Providing context for calling it a massacre, it added that "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."
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.
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.
It, however, added noted that there was an attempt to cover up the incident, saying a government agency cleaned bloodstains and other evidence at the scene.
It said, "The Panel found that there was an attempt to cover up the Incident of the 20th of October by the cleaning of the Lekki Toll Gate and the failure to preserve the scene ahead of potential investigations."
Further stating that there was evidence of a cover-up, the panel stated in its report, "It was alleged and corroborated that the soldiers had their vans parked at
the Lekki Toll Gate and removed as many bodies and corpses of the fallen protesters which they took away with their vans.
"One of the protesters who was shot and taken for dead, Olalekan Sanusi, who eventually escaped to narrate his ordeal and experience stated that 11 corpses were in the van, where he was placed in and presumed dead. Miss Dabira Ayuku also corroborated the above by stating that she saw about 7 dead bodies placed
in one of the military trucks at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of 20th October, 2020.
"It was alleged and corroborated that soldiers picked bullet shells on the night of October 20 and policemen followed up in the morning of October 21 to pick bullet shells.
"Several unidentified bodies were removed by security agencies and LASEHMU (Lagos State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit) and deposited at various hospital mortuaries in Lagos State.
"Three (3) trucks with brushes underneath were brought to the Lekki Toll Gate in the morning of October 21st October, 2020 to clean up the scene of bloodstains and other evidence.
"There was abundant evidence before the Panel that the Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) indicated in its Twitter handle that it had effectively cleaned up the Lekki Toll Gate scene immediately after the incident of October 20, 2020.
"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.
"The Panel finds that most EndSARS protesters and victims of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident of October 20, 2020, were largely unwilling to be identified in public for fear of persecution or harassment by the security agencies and the government generally. Immediately after the protest, there was palpable fear that the Army and Police were visiting hospitals to ‘finish up’ the protesters to the extent that some of them could not return home immediately. Some of the protesters received threats and some were being trailed by unknown persons."