#EndSARS- Panel submits report on Lekki shooting

The Lagos State Judicial Panel on #EndSARS today submitted its report to the Lagos State Government during a brief ceremony at Government House, Alausa, Ikeja, Lagos.

The panel was inaugurated on October 19, 2020, to look into complaints of citizens against human rights abuses by the police.

Following the incident at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, the terms of reference of the Panel were expanded to cover that incident.

However, the panel sat for over one year, listening to testimonies of petitioners, witnesses, experts, and lawyers.

It later announced that it would divide its assignment and report into two principal segments to cover general cases of police abuses and the special case of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident.

During the sittings, compensation was paid to deserving cases of police abuses while a special case was made for victims of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident of October 20, 2020.

A member of the panel, Ebun Adegboruwa, SAN, said the report examined the Lekki tollgate shooting, cases of police brutality, and the need for compensation of some victims.

He said, “True to his word, the Governor of Lagos State granted total independence to the Panel, as we worked according to our conscience and based upon our common convictions.

“Specifically for the Lekki Toll Gate Investigation, we set up certain crucial issues for determination, as to whether:

“There was any protest at the Lekki Toll Gate, the nature of the protest, the presence and mission of soldiers at the Lekki Toll Gate, whether blank or live bullets were shot by the soldiers, whether there was any death and if so, the numbers involved, whether there was any massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, and if so, what evidence is available in proof thereof, whether the police were at the Lekki Toll Gate and if so, whether they shot and killed the protesters, etc.

“The panel answered these questions truthfully, frankly and courageously, based on the evidence led before it.”

The lawyer threatened to make the outcome of the report public if the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, fails to do so.

He said, “Although I have my own copy of the report of the Panel, I will trust His Excellency the Governor of Lagos State to fulfill his promise to Nigerians to make the findings and recommendations of the Panel public. That is the only way to build a true nation and avoid a repeat of the atrocious acts of security agencies against our people, especially the youths, the vulnerable, and the helpless.

On the night of 20 October 2020, at about 6:50 p.m., members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on peaceful End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos State, Nigeria. Amnesty International stated that at least 120 protesters were killed during the shooting. A day after the incident, on 21 October, the governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-olu, initially denied reports of any loss of lives, but later admitted in an interview with a CNN journalist that “only two persons were killed.