Lekki Shooting: Why the UK is yet to impose sanctions on perpetrators
The United Kingdom government has revealed why it is yet to sanction officials of the Nigerian government and security operatives culpable of abusing human rights during the EndSARS protests in October.
The government said the process of sanctioning perpetrators of human rights violations as stipulated under the Global Human Rights Sanctions Regime is “a long standing practice not to speculate on our future sanctions, as this could reduce the impact of those very sanctions.”
Wendy Morton, the Member of Parliament for Aldridge-Brownhills and Minister at the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, who represented the Minister for Africa revealed this at the Parliament Petition Committee debate on the EndSARS petition on the evening of Monday November 23, 2020.
The e-petition, signed by more than 220,000 people, calls on the UK Government to consider imposing sanctions on members of the Nigerian Government and police force involved in any human rights abuse following the attack on unarmed EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on Tuesday October 20, 2020.
The petitioners want the UK government to issue a travel ban and freeze the assets of Nigerian government officials and security operatives involved in the attack on peaceful EndSARS protesters and abuse of human rights.
Leading the debate on the petition, Theresa Villiers MP, a member of the Petitions Committee, said the petitioners have a credible case.
She urged the UK government to give serious consideration to the request and provide assurance. “If the End SARS protesters get the reform they demand, Nigeria could become a formidable power house,” Villiers said.
She told the UK government to use all diplomatic means they have available to get the Nigerian government to listen to what the protesters are asking for.
Condemning the reaction of the UK government to the attack on protesters at Lekki on Tuesday October 20, the MPs said “the U.K government issued only a weak and timid statement” after the world condemned the attack.
The MPs described the comment as a gift to the Nigerian government and argued that “the U.K should not be a safe haven for anyone who denies their own citizens the same freedom they come to enjoy in the U.K.”
It also condemned the freezing of bank accounts and illegal detentions of key EndSARS protesters and said it’s time for the UK to change course and stand in solidarity with those demanding a new Nigeria.
Members of the Petition Committee unanimously called on the UK government to issue sanctions on individuals responsible for the attacks and not the country.
“When a repressive regime is targeted with economic sanctions, it is the citizens who suffer it but the UK government can use the sanctions which target individuals involved in abuse of human rights,” the MPs said.
In her reaction, Morton said the UK government is still investigating and “will continue to keep all evidence and potential listings under close review.”
She, however, said the U.K government will continue to press the Nigerian government and the security forces to uphold the rule of law, to investigate all incidence of brutality, illegal detention and the use of excessive force and to hold those responsible to account.
“We will closely monitor the ongoing judicial panel and continue to advocate for investigation into police brutality,” Morton said.
