EndSars: ECOWAS Court Finds Nigerian Government Guilty of Human Rights Violations in Lekki Tollgate Shooting

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice has delivered a landmark ruling in favor of the victims of the Lekki tollgate shooting. The court found that the Nigerian government violated the human rights of peaceful #EndSARS protesters when security forces opened fire at the tollgate on October 20, 2020.

This was made known in a recent report by the Foundation of Investigative Journalism (FIJ) which shed light on a groundbreaking decision handed down by the ECOWAS Community Court of Justice on Wednesday.

The report detailed how the court condemned the Nigerian government for its “disproportionate use of force” against peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020. The verdict was a stinging rebuke to the government’s excessive and indiscriminate use of force, which resulted in multiple deaths and injuries.

In a further indictment of the Nigerian government’s actions, the ECOWAS court not only found that live ammunition was fired into a crowd of unarmed #EndSARS protesters, but also ordered the government to pay each victim named in the suit a total sum of N10 million in compensation.

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