Amnesty International says it will  partner with the media on  adequately documenting, reporting, and exposing violators of human rights, and seeking redress for victims.

Auwal Musa Rafsanjani, the Amnesty International Nigeria’s Board Chairman, said this at its media parley on Thursday in Lagos.

Rafsanjani said that the partnership was necessary, because it desired to acquaint journalists and media practitioners with the human rights situation in Nigeria, so they could have a good understanding of it.

“We note that there are some human rights abuses that have happened in recent times in Nigeria that got poor reportage.

“This gives rise to the need for Amnesty International to synergise with journalists and media practitioners, so as to continue to advance the noble goals of human rights and justice in Nigeria.

“The purpose of this synergy will be to provide journalists and media practitioners with a unique opportunity to engage directly with our representatives.

“Through this forum, we will provide answers to your questions and concerns, so that the media can gain insight into our human rights agenda and strategy,’’ he said.

The board chairman said that the partnership would involve forming a formidable network of journalists and media practitioners, covering human rights across Nigeria.

He stressed that through the partnership,  journalists and media  practitioners would be equipped with the necessary tools for human rights documentation and reporting.

Rafsanjani added that the partnership would assist it in building a network of media personnel to propagate Amnesty International’s work in Nigeria and globally.

He said that another aim of the forum was to underscore the need for journalists and media practitioners to heighten the call for military and security agencies’ accountability.

Rafsanjani  added that it was also to ensure that accountability was included in the military framework in Nigeria.“Journalistsitary framework in Nigeria.“Journalists need to be acquainted with the Provision of Chapter Four of the constitution which deals with fundamental human rights.

“Also, since we are now in the age of social media, unlike when I started this job, things have been made easier through video recordings of certain infractions.

“Fortunately, there are a couple of WhatsApp platforms created for the purpose of capturing human rights infractions and more can still be created. Through these platforms, a number of cases have been resolved or escalated,” he said.

On his part, Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), commended Amnesty International and all other human rights groups for their advocacy.

Falana said that Nigeria had one of the best human rights laws regime on paper, adding that some of these laws could not be found in the U.S. or Britain.

“Today, Nigeria has one of the best human rights laws regime on paper, laws you can’t find in America or Britain. Already mentioned is the Africa Charter on Human Rights, socio-econmomic rights, the Police Establishment Act 2020, we have the law against the rejection of patients by hospitals, and so many others.

“However, the question is, “with all these laws, where are we? What should we do next? How do we enforce this laws to ensure that the rights of our people are upheld?”

“This are questions which I would urge Amnesty International to make the subject of our next meeting,’’ he said.

The Amnesty International has insisted that up to 56 people were killed during the October 2020 #ENDSARS protests in Nigeria.

Today Wednesday October 20 marks a year anniversary of the protests, with some of the organisers marking it in different parts of the country.

There have been some clashses with security operatives in the process.

While the Minister of Information, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday morning berated the AI and other organisations for projecting what he callled fake reports about a massacre, the AI said killings truly happened.

In a statement signed by Osai Ojigho, Director of Amnesty International Nigeria, it said:

“Under the pretext of restoring order, horrific injuries were inflicted on hundreds of people and at least 56 people were killed, among them dozens of young people lost their lives as Nigerian security forces used unnecessary and excessive force to disperse peaceful protesters across the country.
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“It is unacceptable that despite overwhelming evidence, the government continues to deny the use of live ammunition on protesters at Lekki toll gate exactly a year ago.

“Amnesty International had documented incidents at Lekki Toll Gate Lagos and other parts of Nigeria, showing the violent response of the Nigerian security forces to peaceful protests. The clear aim of the crackdown was to instil fear, discourage peaceful protests and punish those demanding an end to widespread human rights violations by the police.

“After reviewing videos and photos of the protest sites, Amnesty International found that in nearly 21 incidents where violence occurred between peaceful protesters and pro-government supporters, security forces not only failed to take preventive measures to avoid peaceful assemblies from being disrupted, but they also failed to protect protesters from violent attacks.

“In many instances, the police and other security agents watched as apparently government-backed armed thugs attacked peaceful protesters. In some cases, these thugs were brought to the protest sites in government vehicles. On at least two occasions, these attacks resulted in the death of protesters.

“Almost every person arrested during the protests described being beaten with the butt of a gun, whips and fists during their arrests. According to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), at least 12 journalists were attacked during the #EndSARS protests by security forces and unidentified perpetrators.

“Many of those detained interviewed by Amnesty International said that they were tortured while in detention. In many cases, police abuse continued in detention, in police stations and other holding facilities, and on the way to detention, in police vehicles. Several such cases amount to torture and other ill-treatment.

“Several lawyers and human rights defenders said they spent days moving from one police station to another trying to find out where those who had been arrested were being.

“One person arrested during a protest on 18 October 2020 and held at Lagos state Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Panti, said he repeatedly asked to call a lawyer. He was told by a police officer to shut up. While in detention, he was denied access to a lawyer who had come to see him and was unable to meet with a lawyer until a week after being arrested.

“Providing timely access to lawyers is an important safeguard for many human rights, such as the right to a fair trial and ensuring the detainee’s rights are respected in custody, including the right to access medical care when needed, as well as protection from coerced confessions and torture and other ill-treatment.”

Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has knocked those who said #ENDSARS protesters were massacred at Lekki in 2021.

According to him, a year after the protests, such people and organisations have not been able to prove their assertions.

He particularly identified the Amnesty International and CNN at a press conference he addressed on Wednesday:

TEXT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE HON. MINISTER OF INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, ON THE FIRST ANNIVERSARY OF THE PHANTOM MASSACRE AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE…IN ABUJA ON WEDNESDAY, 20 OCT. 2021

Good morning gentlemen and welcome to this press conference.

PHANTOM MASSACRE AT LEKKI TOLL GATE
2. Today marks the first anniversary of the phantom massacre at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, which was the culmination of an otherwise peaceful protest that was later hijacked by hoodlums. At earlier press conferences, I had called the reported massacre at the toll gate the first massacre in the world without blood or bodies. One year later, and despite ample opportunities for the families of those allegedly killed and those alleging a massacre to present evidence, there has been none: No bodies, no families, no convincing evidence, nothing. Where are the families of those who were reportedly killed at the toll gate? Did they show up at the Judicial Panel of Inquiry? If not, why?

3. Sadly, the champions of a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate, including Amnesty International and CNN, have continued to shamelessly hold on to their unproved stand. Recall, gentlemen, that after bandying different figures, Amnesty International finally settled at about 12 people killed. On its part, CNN went from 38 people killed to two to just one, after a supposed global exclusive even when the network had no reporter on ground at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20th 2020.

4. On Monday, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that was set up by the Lagos State Government after the EndSARS protest wrapped up its sitting. During the sitting, CNN was summoned but it never showed up, thus missing a great opportunity to prove its allegation of massacre at the toll gate. Also, Amnesty International had a golden opportunity to convince the world, but it rather opted for issuing meaningless press releases.

5. In its latest attempt to grasp at straws and redeem whatever is left of its battered credibility on this issue, CNN has continued with its baseless report that soldiers shot at protesters. In a report currently running on the network, CNN brazenly and unashamedly held on to its flawed narrative, relying on an unidentified mother whose son was reportedly shot dead at Lekki, but without convincing evidence of who shot him dead. The same CNN that tweeted on Oct. 23rd 2020 that 38 people were shot dead at Lekki is now struggling to convince the world that one boy was killed at Lekki. What a shame!

6. The testimony of ballistic experts before the Judicial Panel of Inquiry in Lagos contradicts the tales by the moonlight by Amnesty International, CNN, a runaway DJ and their ilk. The experts, in their testimony, said inter alia:
”The Team finds that from the medical data examined, including the timeline of arrival at medical facility and the nature of the injuries sustained by the Victims, who were taken to the 5 medical facilities, that no military grade live ammunition (high-velocity) was fired at the protesters (emphasis mine) at Lekki Tollgate on 20th October 2020, within the timeframe of reference (18.30-20.34hrs). That the GSW (Gun Shot Wounds) injuries (4 in number between 19:05 and 19:45 hrs), which were examined by the Team, can be safely identified as being discharged by either low velocity caliber and/or artisanal/12-gauge firearms (artisanal firearms are locally-fabricated weapons). What is however certain is that had the military personnel deliberately fired military grade live ammunition directly at the protesters; there would have been significantly more fatalities and catastrophic injuries recorded. This was clearly not the case.” (emphasis mine)

7. The ballistic experts are not alone in reaching that conclusion. In its 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices, the U.S. State Department wrote:

“On Oct. 20th (2020), members of the security forces enforced curfew by FIRING SHOTS INTO THE AIR (emphasis mine) to disperse protesters, who had gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos to protest abusive practices by the Nigeria Police Force Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)

“Accurate information on fatalities resulting from the shooting was not available at year’s end. Amnesty International reported 10 persons died during the event, but the government disputed Amnesty’s Report, and NO OTHER ORGANIZATION WAS ABLE TO VERIFY THE CLAIM (emphasis mine).”

8. With the preponderance of evidence against any massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20th 2020, we are once again reiterating what we said one year ago, that:

i) The military did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20th 2020, and there was no massacre at the toll gate. The only ‘massacre’ recorded was in the social media, hence there were neither bodies nor blood.

ii) Amnesty International, CNN, a runaway DJ and others like them should apologize for misleading the world that there was a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate and for portraying the Nigerian military, police and other security agencies in bad light.

iii) CNN acted unprofessionally by relying on unverified, and possibly-doctored social media videos, as well as other open-source information, to conclude that a massacre took place at the toll gate.

iv) The Federal Government remains proud of the security agencies for acting professionally and showing utmost restraint all through the EndSARS protest and the ensuing violence, an action that saved lives and properties.

v) The six soldiers and 37 policemen who died during the EndSARS protests are human beings with families, even though the Human Rights Organizations and CNN simply ignored their deaths, choosing instead to trumpet a phantom massacre.

OTHER ISSUES RELATED TO ENDSARS

9. The National Economic Council (NEC), which comprises all State Governors and representatives of the Federal Government, and chaired by the Vice President, has already addressed other issues relating to the EndSARS protest.

10. At its meeting on 15 October 2021, the NEC received an update on the Reports of Judicial Panels of Inquiry into Allegations of Human Rights Violations against Members of Nigeria Police Force and other Security Agencies. Note that 28 States and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) – under the auspices of the National Human Rights Commission – had set up Judicial Panels/Commissions of Inquiry to investigate allegations of violations of human rights levied against members of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies, especially members of the disbanded SARS.

11. Out of the 28 States, 11 States (Abia, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Kwara, Nasarawa, Ogun, Ondo, Osun, Plateau, and Rivers) have submitted their final reports to Council. Governors of other States have also indicated that their reports would be submitted soon. Following deliberations on the recommendations of the panels, NEC agreed/resolved as follows:

PAYMENT OF COMPENSATION TO VICTIMS
Each State, in collaboration with the Federal Government, shall establish modalities for the settlement of all monetary compensations awarded by the Panels. Already, as resolved by NEC, a number of States have set up Victims Compensation Funds, from which several victims have already received payments of sums awarded to them by the panels.

PROSECUTION OF INDICTED PERSONS (SECURITY PERSONNEL AND CIVILIANS)
Council directed State Governors to immediately forward copies of final reports of the panels to their Attorneys-General for prompt arraignment and prosecution of all indicted persons. Where incidents in the reports relate to matters of discipline, in addition to prosecution, NEC urged the Nigeria Police Force to take disciplinary action on the affected officers in line with the provisions of the Police Act 2020.

IMPROVED EFFICIENCY OF NIGERIA POLICE FORCE AND OTHER SECURITY AGENCIES’ ARCHITECTURE
NEC called on the leadership of the security agencies to ensure that –
a. Persons recruited into arms-bearing security agencies undergo psychiatric evaluations and drug tests before enlistment and periodically after enlistment to ensure that the personnel are psychologically fit to carry live weapons and to identify behavioural tendencies that may require psycho-social interventions.
b. Personnel of the agencies dutifully observe Rules of Engagement in the discharge of their functions/duties around and within the civilian populace.
c. While acknowledging the various initiatives introduced by the Federal Government to:
*strengthen police accountability through the Police Service Commission,
*sustain improved funding and budgetary allocation to the Nigeria Police Force and other securities agencies,
*and the lifting of the ban on recruitment of police officers, Council urged the Federal Government to give priority to the general welfare of police officers and personnel of other security agencies. In particular, it advocated the review of pension and gratuity of retired police officers and attainment of parity of remuneration by police officers with sister security agencies.
d. Undertake a comprehensive assessment of all police stations across the country with a view to ensuring that they are fit for purpose.
e. Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies should deploy cutting-edge technology in the fight against crimes.
f. Nigeria Police Force to, in line with the mandatory training provisions of the Police Act 2020, prioritize training of Police Officers on procedures for the entrenchment of Human Rights Provisions guaranteed by the Constitution and on the professional handling of weapons.
g. All those detained by the Police as a result of the EndSars protests are expeditiously processed with due regard to the principles of fair hearing.
h. The system established within the Nigeria Police Force for receipt and handling of complaints or petitions is strengthened, and all police officers on duty should be in police-approved uniform with their full names and force numbers boldly written for easy identification.
i.The States should, as resolved by NEC:
– Properly utilize and support the community policing programme of the Federal Government, with active collaborative efforts and participation of traditional rulers, elders, youths, vigilante groups, etc.;
– Establish standing committees under States Ministries of Justice to address human rights violations on a continuous basis; and
– Take measures aimed at flushing out miscreants squatting in uncompleted buildings, and other blackout spots that serve as hideouts for criminals.

12. Of course, NEC also issued an advisory on public protests to mark the first anniversary of the EndSARS protest. While appreciating the role of lawful peaceful protests in the advancement of public discourse under democratic governance, the NEC strongly advised those planning public protests across the country to mark the EndSARS’ anniversary to consider other lawful alternative means of engagement, especially because of the current security situation across the country and the possibility of such protests being hijacked by armed hoodlums and other opportunistic criminals to cause mayhem.

13. Finally, NEC also pointed out the various actions already taken by Federal and State Governments to address the grievances that led to the 2020 protests, including:

* the disbandment of SARS;
*broad police reforms;
*establishment of judicial panels of inquiries to investigate allegations of human rights violations by members of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies;
* recommendations of which panels are already at various stages of implementation including the setup of Victims Compensation Funds from which several victims have received payments of sums awarded to them by the panels;
*and prosecution of police personnel indicted by the panels.

14. Gentlemen, I thank you for your kind attention.

The Federal Government says Amnesty International (AI) is becoming an irritant with disinformation and double standard and will soon lose its respect and credibility.

The government said this position in response to the AI allegation of cover up in the handling of the purported crackdown and killings of EndSARS protesters at Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos in October 2020.

In a release to mark 100 days of the Lekki Toll Gate incidence, AI, a global movement on campaign to end abuses of human rights, alleged Nigerian authorities were covering up in bringing the perpetrators of the purported killings to book.

Speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Abuja, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed accused AI of disinformation and double standard.

Specifically, the minister said AI had no proof to justify its claim that 12 people were killed by the military at the incidence.

“If Amnesty International has any proof, it should come out with it or shut up.

“After a lot of dillydally, Amnesty International said 12 people were shot at the Lekki Toll Gate.

“They should take advantage of the Judicial Panel of Enquiry set up by Lagos state to tell the names and addresses of the 12 people they claim were shot at the toll gate,’’ he said.

The minister said AI had no respect for the Nigerian judiciary by coming out with the report while the judicial panel of enquiry was still sitting on the case

Mohammed also accused the global body of double standard in the handling of cases involving Nigeria and some other developing countries compared to some developed world.

He said the AI did not say one word when the American government arrested and are prosecuting those who invaded Capitol Hill in Washington aftermath of the U.S. Presidential elections.

“American government has vowed that they will search, arrest and prosecute anybody involved in the attack on Capitol Hill

“When Nigeria wanted to arrest and prosecute those hoodlums responsible for the killings of 37 Policemen, six Soldiers during the EndSARS protest, Amnesty International will find fault.

“At the Lekki toll gate incident in Lagos, they described the hoodlums as peaceful protesters, while the people who invaded capitol hill in the US were called insurrectionists.

“When the U.S. Government denied the investigators from the International Criminal Court visa to enter the U.S., we did not hear a word from Amnesty International.

“They will soon lose their respect and credibility if they continue to operate this double standard,’’ he said.