Lagos Massacre #STOPTHENIGERIANGOVERMENT
+ a collection of email addresses for credible international bodies, action email templates to send
Copied mostly from ngvoices.ng. Thankful to everybody banding together to defeat the propaganda.
Please read carefully
At 10:00 pm on 20th October 2020, at least 11 people were confirmed dead and many more injured in a massacre orchestrated by the Nigerian Government. The gunshots are still loud and unceasing in Lagos
This was the culmination of events that started at 12 pm, when the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, declared a 24-hr curfew in the state, only 4 hours before the curfew would come into effect.
Shortly after the announcement, some unidentified individuals arrived at Lekki-Tollgate to remove the security cameras, claiming they were sent by the government. As evening drew, the lights at the toll-gate where the protesters sat were turned off. Soon after, THE NIGERIAN ARMY ARRIVED AND STARTED SHOOTING LIVE AMMUNITION AT THE PROTESTERS. This was all streamed live on Instagram. We saw pictures and videos of our friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, singing the National Anthem to keep hope alive as they ducked in fear. We watched in horror as people fell and drew their last breaths. We saw the Nigerian flag covered with the blood of a Nigerian citizen, shed by the army that should have protected them!
Ambulances were prohibited from the location. The official Lagos state Emergency lines were disabled and cell towers were said to be turned off. Army officials were also reported to be carting away the bodies of the victims.
Reports have tried to tag the killers as “Armed men” and the protesters as thugs. THIS IS A LIE. These protesters were not violent and were not thugs!
While I was working on this, I learnt that my colleague, Oke, an outstanding designer and, as I am now learning, great friend to many, was fatally shot today. I’m distraught and I’m so sorry to us all that this is how the government has chosen to treat their “children”; reducing us to bullet numbers and statistics.
I have compiled a list of international bodies that I believe have some credibility and could maybe prompt some form of justice-- The first is Human Rights Watch; for news coverage. The second is the International Criminal Court.
Send them emails, mention them on social media and, if you can, call them. Please, stay safe and take as many breaks as you need, but don’t you dare give up.
If you need someone to talk to, STER has a mental health helpline. Find that here
Call the end SARS response unit for legal, medical, security and food aid
#ENDSARS #StopNigerianGovernment
Send to:
Human Rights Watch
Email addresses:
Draft Email
Subject line: The Nigerian Government is Killing Peaceful Protestors
Dear Human Rights Watch,
On the 20th of October 2020, at the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, one of the major centres of #EndSARS protests in Lagos, protesters gathered for the 12th day with the same enthusiasm, passion and dedication they’d shown since the demonstrations began. At noon, the State Governor issued an indefinite curfew meant to take place from 4 PM (extended shortly after to 9 PM, merely four hours later.) Attempts to comply with the directive resulted in hours-long traffic jams on all major roads and panic buying in stores as people tried to prepare themselves for uncertain days ahead.
Protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate were gathered peacefully into the evening, holding hands and singing songs, when the Nigerian Army arrived and opened fire. Witnesses at the scene recorded videos and took photos, giving Nigerians and the rest of the world eyes into a state-sanctioned massacre. It had been confirmed by eyewitnesses that the lights and cameras in the area had been deactivated before the army came, and restored when they left.
The death toll at this moment is at least 11, with many others injured and unaccounted for. While death and havoc continue to spread, the government of Lagos, the Federal Government, and the Nigerian army refuse to take responsibility for the events that have occurred, for crimes against humanity. Some have said that history will judge the perpetrators of these crimes, but we owe it to everyone who has been a victim of this government, of the Nigerian state, to make our own history, to act in this present moment, not merely to condemn, but to demand answers, accountability, and justice.
We urge you to lend your expertise to call global attention to this issue. With your help, we can bring the tyranny to an end.
Please also see links to some evidence of the human rights abuses as reported by international and local media on various platforms:
Thank you for your time and interest in the plight of Nigerians.
[Name, if you want]
------
International Criminal Court
Office of the Prosecutor:
otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int
Use this salutation:
The International Criminal Court,
Office of the Prosecutor,
Information and Evidence Unit.
Dear Ms Fatou Bensouda,
Office of the president;
fadi.el-abdallah@icc-cpi.int
Use this salutation:
Dear Fadi El-Abdallah@icc-cpi,
To: Judge Chile Eboe-Osuji
Draft email
Subject line: The Nigerian Government is Killing Peaceful Protestors
At 10:00 pm on 20th October 2020, at least 11 people were confirmed dead and many more injured in a massacre orchestrated by the Nigerian Government.
This was the culmination of events that started at 12 pm, when the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, declared a 24-hr curfew in the state, only 4 hours before the curfew would come into effect.
Shortly after the announcement, some unidentified individuals arrived at Lekki-Tollgate to remove the security cameras, claiming they were sent by the government. As evening drew, the lights at the toll-gate where the protesters sat were turned off. Soon after, THE NIGERIAN ARMY ARRIVED AND STARTED SHOOTING LIVE AMMUNITION AT THE PROTESTERS. This was all streamed live on Instagram. We’ve seen pictures and videos of our friends, brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, singing the National Anthem to keep hope alive as they ducked in fear. We watched in horror as people fell and drew their last breaths. We saw the Nigerian flag covered with the blood of a Nigerian citizen, shed by the army that should have protected them!
Ambulances were prohibited from the location. The official Lagos state Emergency lines were disabled and cell towers were said to be turned off. Army officials were also reported to be carting away the bodies of the victims.
It is obvious the government is not prepared to ban the rogue squad. Even with the announcements made, we still see armed policemen harassing and killing Nigerians on the street.
Some have said that history will judge the perpetrators of these crimes, but we owe it to everyone who has been a victim of this government, of the Nigerian state, to make our own history, to act in this present moment, not merely to condemn, but to demand answers, accountability, and justice.
The President, Muhammadu Buhari,
VP, Oluyemi Osibanjo,
Bola Ahmed Tinubu,
The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu
Chief of Army Staff of Nigeria, Tukur Yusuf Buratai
These are some of the people that we urge you to hold accountable.
Thank you for your time
[Name, if you want]