Nigerian authorities have ordered the mass burial of 103 people who died in violence linked to protests in October 2020, whose bodies were not claimed by relatives.
The decision by Lagos State, Nigeria’s commercial hub, was made to ease congestion in the region’s morgues, the Ministry of Health said in an emailed statement on Sunday evening.
The deaths occurred during two weeks of demonstrations in Lagos, Abuja, and other towns against police brutality that turned violent.
The government denied that any of the bodies were connected to an incident at the Lekki Toll Gate, where soldiers on Oct. 20, 2020, forcefully dispersed protesters in defiance of a curfew.
Amnesty International said at least twelve people were killed when troops fired on crowds. The government and the Nigerian army have denied that live ammunition was used in the incident.
The government claimed in a separate report that at least 69 people, including 18 security-force members, died from violence related to the protests that spread throughout the country.
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