Lekki Shooting and the Viloation of Human Right: a Qualitative Review of the Endsars Protest

Individuals in every country are entitled to enjoy certain privileges which are not just only given to them by nature but are enshrined in the constitution of that very country. These privilege are called human rights. These rights are defended in the law court of the country when being violated by either individuals to individual or the government to the citizens of the country. One of the stated human rights amongst others in Chapter Four, Section 33 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended) is “Right to life” and “right to peaceful assemble and freedom of association with other persons” respectively. Human rights are moral principles or norms that describe certain standards of human behaviour and are inalienable fundamental rights which a person is entitled to simply because he or she is a human being. The Lekki shooting by the Nigeria Army who opened fire on a group of peaceful EndSars protesters at Lekki toll gate, Lagos state in October 20 2020 and led to massive bloodshed can be described as extra-judicial killings and a bridge or violation of human right in Nigeria. Extra-judicial killing/murder is the act of arbitrarily taking someone’s life, denying or violating a person’s right to life without recourse to the due process of the law. Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) by the United Nations Organization in the 1948 was established to protect the abuse of human rights amongst member countries which Nigeria is a member. This study focused on the Lekki shootings and the violation of human rights, using the EndSars protest as a case study. It expatiates and amplifies the position of the law on protest and civil disobedience with respect to the Lekki toll gate extra-judicial killings. This project made use of secondary data like textbooks, journal articles, and internet resources. This study observed that violation of human right has been a major problem in individual countries which UNO has been tackling. The study recommends International and supranational organizations such as the Commonwealth adopting measures to make individual governments, particularly in the developing countries, observe the right to protest as sacred; protest should not be subjected to any permit issued by the authorities in individual countries; and rather than suppressing the right to protest, demonstrators who adopt violence should be prosecuted in public courts.