An online petition has been launched on the web-based petition aggregator, change.org.
The
petition was addressed to the International Criminal Court to arraign
Nigeria's President, Muhammadu Buhari, over his crimes against
humanity.
The petition, which has garnered 7, 013 signatories as of the time of filing this report, is titled, “Petition To The ICC To Arraign Muhammadu Buhari for Crimes Against Humanity”.
The petition was initiated by Reno Omokri, a former Special Assistant to Nigeria's former President, Goodluck Jonathan.
It
reads, “On October 20, 2020, the Buhari administration murdered
multiple innocent, unarmed, peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki
Toll Gate in a massacre that has since been dubbed #LekkiMassacre.
“These
youths were protesting to put an end to the rampant police brutality
that had become the hallmark of the Buhari regime, which treats
so-called repentant Boko Haram almost like royalty, while coming hard on
young Nigerians, sometimes for the flimsiest reason, such as wearing
dreadlocks.
“Following the murders of these protesters, the
Buhari administration denied that the incident ever occurred. They
threatened those, like myself, who insisted, with proof, that this
massacre happened. The government even threatened to jail people who
called for those behind the murders to be brought to book.
“However,
on Monday, November 15, 2021, the Lagos State Panel of Inquiry into
EndSARS released its report to the state government in which it
established judicially that not only did the massacre occur, but that
the government of Muhammadu Buhari and its agents-- the Nigerian Army
and police--perpetrated the murders.
“This petition is therefore
directed at the International Criminal Court to set machinery in motion
for the trial of Muhammadu Buhari for crimes against humanity in the
same way that former Liberian President, Charles Taylor, was tried and
convicted.
“On this day, November 17, 2021, when my beloved
twin sons are celebrating their 14th birthday, they have permitted me to
use their special day to call for justice for the many sons and
daughters who will never have another birthday because Buhari killed
them in their prime. #BuhariForPrison2023.”
On Monday, the Lagos
State judicial panel on Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)-related abuses
submitted its report to the state government.
The findings of
the panel, set up to investigate the shooting of peaceful protesters at
the Lekki tollgate in Lagos during the demonstrations against police
brutality in October 2020, had confirmed in its report that at least
nine persons died.
The report released by the panel on Monday
also confirmed the excesses of the police and military personnel as well
as the ugly incident at the tollgate.
The panel had also described the killing as a “massacre.”
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