Lagos State Government has approved the mass burial of 103 corpses recovered in the aftermath of the mass protest that rocked the state in October 2020 where youths sought the disbandment of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
The state Ministry of Health confirmed this in a statement signed by its Permanent Secretary, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, made available to newsmen by the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu , Gboyega Akosile, on Sunday.
The statement was in reaction to an earlier leaked letter over the weekend from the Lagos State Public Procurement Agency, dated July 19, 2023, addressed to the Ministry of Health and signed by the Director-General of the agency, Mr. Onafowote Idowu.
The letter revealed the approval of the sum of N61,285,000 for the mass burial
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It partly read, “We refer to your letter dated July 13, 2023, with Ref No: LSMH/G/NS/013-1/23 in respect of the above subject matter.
“Following our review of your letter and the documents attached, we note the following I. Mr. Governor’s Approval II. Minutes of Ministerial Tenders Board III. Meeting Procurement Planning Committee IV. Sign-off.
“Following review of your request and based on the information provided therein, the agency has ‘No Objection’ to the award of contract to MESSRS. TOS FUNERALS LIMITED at a total cost of N61,285,000 only for the mass burial for the 103, the year 2020 EndSARS victims.”
Babajide Sanwo-Olu government faulted the panel’s report that nine persons were killed at the toll gate when soldiers stormed the protest ground to disperse the protesters.
In the White Paper obtained by The PUNCH, the government described the claim of the panel that nine persons were shot dead as “assumptions and speculations.”
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS-related Abuses and Other Matters had on November 15, 2021, submitted its report after which Sanwo-Olu set up the White Paper committee.
The four-member committee was led by the state Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN).
Punch
