A bill to pay victims of the 2020 #EndSARS protest was approved by the Senate on Wednesday for second reading. The #EndSARS movement began in October 2020, when tens of thousands of Nigerians, mostly young people, gathered on the streets to demonstrate against police brutality, especially that committed by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad police unit, which has since been dismantled.
The military got involved in the demonstration, especially in Lagos, which served as its core, after hoodlums hijacked it after going on for days in all of the country’s major cities.
Armed forces stormed the Lekki tollgate on the evening of October 20, 2020, to disperse a sizable gathering of demonstrators after the Lagos State Government issued a curfew.
The military action was preceded by widespread reports of extrajudicial executions and shootings of protestors, which the military denied.
According to Amnesty International, which accused the military of extrajudicial killings, at least 12 people were murdered, and hundreds were injured during the #EndSARS protests.
As a result, many states established independent panels to investigate rights breaches by the police unit and other elements of the Nigerian police. Finally, the investigation was handed to the National Human Rights Commission in Abuja.
The Bill:
Senator Gershom Bassey (Peoples Democratic Party, Cross-River State) sponsored the bill. Bassey stated in his debate that the law intends to create the #EndSARS Victims Compensation Fund.
According to the senator,
“Distinguished colleagues, you may recall that as a result of the #EndSARS nationwide protests in October 2020, judicial panels of inquiry were constituted to address the demands of protesters and compensation for verified victims of the #EndSARS protest.
“The findings of the judicial panels of inquiry and the Senate Joint Committee on #EndSARS revealed the killing of protesters, destruction of private and public properties by rampaging hoodlums, who seized and took over the protest, vandalising and looting valuable assets.
“However, the implementation of the recommendations of all the panels and committees regarding compensation has been very discouraging”.
The legislator claims that during the rally, hoodlums injured the victims and left them to writhe in anguish.
He asserted that the ultimate creation of the fund and the application of the Senate Joint Committee on # EndSARS’s and the Judicial Panel of Inquiry’s recommendations would relieve the victims.
“Mr. President, distinguished colleagues, it is my prayer that you support this amendment bill that seeks to bring hope to the 2020 #EndSARS protest victims,” Bassey added.
cc: Punch Ng
