Uchendu Alexis
The Lagos State government has decided to suspend its planned mass burial of 103 corpses recovered in the aftermath of the October 2020 #EndSARS protests. This decision comes after controversy surrounded the initial announcement of the plan in July, as revealed by The Punch.
Gbenga Omotoso, the state Commissioner for Information and Strategy, disclosed the suspension of the planned mass burial. He explained that the government had originally intended to proceed with the mass burial, but due to the controversies and concerns raised at that time, it was postponed to provide people with more time and opportunity to identify their relatives among the deceased.
The Lagos State Government’s leaked memo from July 19, 2023, had indicated its resolution to conduct a mass burial for the 103 corpses, with an approved budget of N61,285,000 allocated for the burial expenses.
Omotoso clarified that the suspension of the mass burial was primarily to allow for extended identification efforts, stating, “Up till now, nobody has shown up to identify any of the corpses. But the government has decided to give people more time.”
Contrary to earlier beliefs that the 103 corpses were solely those of peaceful protesters who were shot at by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate on Tuesday, October 20, 2020, the Lagos State Government has asserted that these corpses were linked to incidents of violence that followed the Lekki shooting incident.
