Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has rejected demands to pay N5 million in compensation to a 35-year-old Uber driver who was assaulted during the EndSARS memorial.
On March 14, 2023, a Federal High Court in Lagos ordered the Lagos State Government to pay the aforementioned sum to Adedotun Clement, who was severely tortured on October 20, 2021 at the Lekki Toll-Gate during the first EndSARS anniversary.
Clement was transporting a passenger to the Lagos mainland when he encountered a traffic jam at the Lekki Toll-Gate due to a protest marking the first anniversary of EndSARS.
Officers from the Lagos State Neighborhood Safety Agency and police pepper-sprayed him.
The attack on the Uber driver was captured on video and widely reported by television stations and newspapers, eliciting widespread condemnation.
Inibehe Effiong, a human rights lawyer, filed a lawsuit against the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force to seek redress.
Following the judgment, Effiong wrote a letter Governor Sanwo-Olu on March 16, 2023 demanding compliance with the judgment. However, the governor refused to act on the demand. The Lagos State Government has now filed an appeal at the Court of Appeal in Lagos against the judgment.
In a Notice of Appeal filed on Tuesday, March 21, 2023, but served on Friday, March 23, signed by Dr. Babajide Martins, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in the Lagos State Ministry of Justice, the government said there was no evidence that the Uber driver was tortured.
