Majority of Nigerians are unhappy with the order by the Lagos Judicial panel on police brutality for the reopening of the Lekki Toll Gate, results of a poll conducted by Foundation for Investigative Journalism (FIJ) have shown.

The order was met with stiff resistance from Rinu Oduala and Temitope Majekodunmi, the two youth representatives on the nine-man panel, who argued that reopening would jeopardise ongoing investigations. 

In other to gauge public perception on the matter, FIJ’s social media team ran a Poll on Twitter between Saturday and Sunday. 

Now closed, the poll revealed that 84.3% Nigerians objected to the reopening while 11% voted for it. Another 4.7% of voters remained indecisive. The total number of votes cast on the poll was: 191. 

Back in December, the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) had asked the panel to take control of the plaza for repair and insurance claims. The toll gate was the site of the massacre of #EndSARS protesters who were speaking out against police brutality in Nigeria. 

Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, had said both local and international media have not been able to establish that the military raid on protesters at Lekki was a massacre.

FIJ, however, made a 10-week long investigation to unearth the casualties amidst widespread controversies and denials.

The three-part running report established that the Lekki shooting indeed escalated into a massacre, with FIJ tracking 20 persons and concluding that the total figure is higher. Several independent sources, eyewitnesses and families of victims exclusively spoke with FIJ, despite obvious threats from ‘higher authorities’.