A human rights organization, Global Rights, has alleged that security forces have carried out at least 545 extrajudicial killings across Nigeria since the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests, warning that persistent impunity threatens public trust and national cohesion.
The organisation also called on the Federal Government to implement the 2024 judgment of the ECOWAS Court of Justice on human rights violations arising from the October 2020 Lekki Toll Gate incident, including orders relating to investigation, prosecution and compensation.
Global Rights made the demands in a statement by its Executive Director, Abiodun Baiyewu, on Tuesday to mark the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests.
The organisation said accountability for alleged abuses during the 2020 protests remained inadequate, adding that the grievances that triggered the demonstrations had not been sufficiently addressed.
It alleged that at least 135 protesters were extrajudicially killed across Nigeria during the 2020 protests.
Global Rights further said it had documented at least 31 protesters killed by police during the August 2024 #EndBadGovernance protests and 1,135 arbitrary arrests, including those of children as young as 13.
Amnesty International separately reported that its investigation found at least 24 protesters killed by police during the August 2024 demonstrations, while more than 1,200 people, including minors, were detained.
Global Rights said its records showed that alleged extrajudicial killings by security forces had continued since the 2024 protests, putting the number of cases it had documented at 545.
“The repression and continued use of excessive force against protesters, the killing of citizens exercising their constitutional and fundamental human rights, and the continued brazen impunity for security personnel responsible for such violations further expose the hollowness of claims that the grievances that gave rise to #EndSARS have been adequately addressed,” Baiyewu said.
The organisation also demanded full implementation of the ECOWAS Court of Justice’s July 10, 2024, judgment concerning human rights violations arising from the Lekki Toll Gate incident.
The court found Nigeria responsible for violations of several rights of three applicants, including protections against torture, security of person, freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, and the right to an effective remedy.
It ordered compensation for the applicants, a fresh investigation into the violations, prosecution of the responsible state agents and a report on implementation within six months.
Global Rights said the judgment had not been fully implemented and urged the Federal Government to comply with the court’s orders.
The organisation also cited the findings of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, whose 2021 report implicated the Nigerian Army and police in the Lekki shootings. Aspects of the panel’s findings were subsequently disputed by the Lagos State Government.
Baiyewu said the panel had documented violations and made recommendations on accountability, compensation and security-sector reform, but alleged that the state government subsequently rejected key findings.
She called on the Lagos State Government to publicly account for its response to the panel’s recommendations, identifying those implemented, those outstanding and the steps required to fulfil the recommendations it accepted.
Global Rights urged the Federal Government to establish public platforms for reporting progress on investigations, disciplinary measures and criminal proceedings relating to the Lekki incident and other alleged extrajudicial killings.
It also demanded reparations for victims and their families and called on the authorities to guarantee citizens’ rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression.
“The failure to guarantee accountability is not just a violation of the social contract between the state and citizens; it is the precursor to deep distrust of the state,” Baiyewu said.
She warned that Nigeria’s persistent insecurity was eroding national cohesion, arguing that the trust deficit between citizens and the state could further undermine stability.
The organisation also recalled that police officers allegedly harassed and arrested protesters who gathered at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2024, to commemorate the fourth anniversary of the shootings.
It stressed that the rights to life, freedom from torture, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression were binding obligations of the state, not privileges that could be selectively respected.
Global Rights reaffirmed its commitment to supporting victims and their families, insisting that security agencies must be held accountable for violations of citizens’ rights.
“Six years ago, we promised to stand with the victims and their families however long it takes for the arc of the moral universe to bend towards justice for them, and indeed every citizen of Nigeria,” Baiyewu said.
She added that the organisation remained committed to supporting Nigerians demanding an end to police brutality and the protection of their right to protest.
Global Rights stressed that no state institution should be above the law.
