Reactions have trailed the report by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters (Lagos EndSARS Panel), as submitted to the Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu by the Chairman of the panel, Justice Doris Okuwobi, at the Government House, Aluusa, Ikeja on Monday. The United States Government, while reacting to the report, urged the Lagos State and federal governments to take “suitable measures to address those alleged abuses as well as the grievances of the victims and their families,” who were either killed or brutalized during the EndSARS protests that rocked the nation over one year ago. In a statement on Tuesday, while welcoming the conclusion of the panel, the US Mission in Nigeria said America awaited the response from President Muhammadu Buhari government and Lagos authorities. The Embassy noted that official actions were part of a process that represented an important mechanism of accountability regarding the EndSARS protests and events at the toll gate. “Those events led to serious allegations against some members of the security forces”, the statement reads. “We look forward to the Lagos State and federal governments taking suitable measures to address those alleged abuses as well as the grievances of the victims and their families.”
Falz, DJ Switch, Bode George, CAPPA, HURIWA others react to the Panel report
Also, some of the active participants in the protests, celebrities, and some NGOs have reacted to the findings of the Judicial Panel. For Falz (Folarin Falana): “These animals legit made us doubt our sanity about the Lagos massacre, you know. Something that we watched on Instagram live. “Anyway, the panel report is out now and it is clear as day. “Just in case you thought we would back down at some point. That has never been & will never be an option.
“All these recommendations must be implemented fully!! “The least that these innocent souls deserve is JUSTICE!” For DJ Switch (Obianuju Catherine Udeh), live streaming of that night’s event was pivotal to the perception of events. “On this day, last year 20.10.20 (referring to a video of her singing with the protesters at Lekki Tollgate) we were filled with hopes that young Nigerians took a solid stand. “Through all the government’s antics, lies, counter-protesters, and thugs that were sent to attack us… we stood our ground! “When the Nigerian government exhausted all their poorly planned tactics, they unleashed nothing short of EVIL on its citizens. “I’ve not been able to talk today… and I cannot imagine what others who had it worse, feel! “I am so proud of our young generation of leaders and our celebrities that have shown great leadership. “I also must say, it is not a one-day affair… This is a fight for the very fabric of our nation! “My life changed on this day… for worse! But, I also believe it changed for good! I now know what it means to need something so bad… and that need for me is a better Nigeria! “To the youths who risked it all today in order to remember 20.10.20, are in every bit Superman/ Superwoman! “Thanks to @davido for an anthem to remember!” According to Debo Adedayo aka Mr. Macaroni “Those that have been speaking the truth since 20/10/20 are still saying the same thing till this very day. “Go and check the statements of government reps or their supporters. It’s from one lie to the other.
Now they are fighting themselves. “Everlasting confusion for the wicked. “The same panel that the government set up has presented its findings. “Except you people don’t have faith in your own judicial system. “Since last year, we have seen numerous gas-lighting and lies! “The truth always prevails and that truth is the #EndSARS Movement.” Others who reacted to the outcome of the investigation include: Timi Dakolo, who asked why another panel? “They wanna set up another panel to panel the other panel’s findings.” Ruggedman on his part posted, “Now that the truth of what we already know about the Lekki Tollgate Massacre has been revealed, will you now unban Twitter and ban yourself?
CAPPA seeks criminal prosecution over EndSARS report
On its part, the Corporate Accountability and Public Participation Africa, CAPPA, demanded that criminal prosecution be instituted against individuals found to have committed the massacre that happened on October 20, 2020, at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos. CAPPA Executive Director, Akinbode Oluwafemi, said, “It is a sad testament for our nation that harmless protesters were mowed down this way while peacefully waving the national flag the military was established to protect. “The findings of the Judicial Panel that the Lagos State government received is what we confirmed long ago and documented in our report— Lies and the Hail of Bullets.” Oluwafemi pointed out that in the face of undeniable atrocities perpetrated by Nigerian security forces the Nigerian government and their image-makers walked the lonely road of woeful denial, adding that “what we are now demanding is justice for the victims. “On Thursday, October 22, 2021, CAPPA launched “Lies and the Hail of Bullets: #EndSARS — the story of Lekki shootings by survivors,” an expository account of the events of October 20, 2021, at Lekki Tollgate where survivors and victims’ families narrated their ordeals. “Despite the unabashed denials of the Nigerian government, CAPPA invited victims of Lekki shooting and families of deceased protesters, who also gave vivid accounts of the atrocity, as captured in the report. “The report both in print and video documentary format was accompanied by a follow-up letter by CAPPA to the United Nations, Office of the High Commissioner, and the International Criminal Court, urging both bodies to act and investigate the incident. “The government had swung into its usual denial action afterwards. The report threw up many unanswered questions about the Lekki shootings. “They include who invited the army to the Lekki Tollgate? Who was the senior military man that asked the soldiers to stop shooting? “Why won’t hospitals release bullets they extracted from victims? Why the desperate orchestrated cover-up from the government, its paid agents, and proxies? “Why is the government so intolerant of even a memorial for the EndSARS victims?”
Apologise to Lagosians over Lekki toll gate shooting, Bode George tells Sanwo- Olu
…says Army must court-martial culpable soldiers The former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Chief Bode George, on his part warned Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos to apologize to Lagos residents. George, a former Military Administrator of Ondo State, also charged the Nigerian Army to fish out soldiers responsible for the Lekki toll gate shooting and court-martial them. While reacting to the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution on Lekki Toll Gate Shooting Incident and Cases of Police Brutality as well as human rights violations, George said: “I want to congratulate the members of the panel because what they have done has changed my mindset about the country. “It is gladdening that we still have credible people. It was not just one person, it was a panel that sat and their names will be written in gold that they told the truth. They listened for months to testimonies and went through the evidence and wrote the report the way they saw it. The younger generation will read the report and judge the panel well, so I want to congratulate them. “Sanwo-Olu should know that he has a family name behind him both from his mother and his father’s side and that the truth has already been told. “He should be straight with himself and his government and take the appropriate actions. To err is human and to forgive is divine. If he reads the document from the panel and makes amends and apologizes to the people of the state that would be great. Lives were lost. He should read that document, make amends and apologize to the people of the state.
“The killings that happened took place under Sanwo-Olu’s watch. I was a governor and I left in 1990 and I have been in and out of leadership. If I had misbehaved, will I have the nerves to go into politics and talk to people? SanwoOlu is from an honorable family and even if people are pushing him to reopen the toll gate, he should know that the truth about what happened there is already out in the open. “Lagos is a mini-Nigeria because there is no tribe that exists in this country that you won’t find in Lagos. Let Sanwo-Olu take a cursory look and correct the mistakes made. If there is a need to apologize to the people, of course he has to apologise. Despite the stories flying around, the truth has been told and it is now in the open. Let him be bold enough to do the right thing. He must do something for those who lost their lives. “When you pass through the Lekki toll gate, you will see them doing some wiring and testing. If some people are pushing him to reopen the toll gate, he should go and have a rethink because from January 2022, politics will commence. “I was in the military and the only person that gives orders is the commander in chief. People want to know how the military got involved and if it was a mistake, it should never happen again. This should not be swept under the carpet. The military command should investigate what happened and the right thing should be done.”
Sack Lai Mohamed now, Huriwa tells Buhari
President Muhammadu Buhari has been called upon to sack the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed immediately. Lai Mohammed, in a series of press conferences after the protests, continually denied anyone was killed when soldiers attacked the protest scene. Despite the Federal Government’s stance, the report indicated that there was indeed a massacre at the Lekki tollgate according to obvious evidence. The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) reacting to the report of the panel, called for the dismissal, arrest, and trial of Lai Mohammed for his egregious falsehood which had now been contradicted by a judicial panel of investigators in Lagos. HURIWA disclosed this in a press statement it issued against the backdrop of the release of a conclusive report by the panel that looked into the ENDSARS protests and police brutality issues. . “HURIWA is asking President Muhammadu Buhari as a biological father of many well-educated children, to order the arrest and prosecution of his minister of information Lai Mohammed for committing a grave and heartless offence that is equivalent to the denial of the Holocaust of the 6 million Jews by Adolf Hitler which is punishable by nearly half a century of incarceration. “HURIWA is also commending the brave members and Chairperson of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on the #ENDSARS PROTESTS especially the circumstances surrounding the massive cases of extrajudicial killings by the Army and armed police when these armed forces opened fire with lethal weapons targeted at the unarmed protesters. “President Muhammadu Buhari must note that as a Father of many Children he needs to ensure that impunity is never tolerated especially the extrajudicial killings of youngsters by the Army just for protesting against police Brutality,” HURIWA added.
PDP demands prosecution of killers, says report confirms APC is a murderous party
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the report by the Lagos state EndSARS panel confirming the gruesome killings of innocent youths at the Lekki Tollgate during the 2020 EndSARS protest, strengthened the fact that the All Progressives Congress (APC) was running a murderous and oppressive regime that has no regard for life. It said in a statement, ‘’Nigerians can recall how security operatives attacked and massacred innocent youths and how the APC, its leaders and agents, in various agencies of the APC-controlled government, vehemently denied the killings, tried to mop up evidence and provided official cover for the killers. “The report of the Lagos EndSARS panel, which confirms the massacre of Nigerian youths in Lekki, has further shown the APC and its government as bloody liars whose hands are stained with the blood of our innocent compatriots. “It is now clear that no matter how much the wicked strive in denial, the truth will always prevail. Therefore, the blood of our innocent youths killed by agents of the APC and its administration must not be shed in vain. Those responsible for these callous acts must be made to face justice. “Of course, all those whose hands have become bloodstained will never know peace.
‘’The PDP hereby invites Nigerians to stand for our slain compatriots by ensuring that those behind the massacre of our youths as well as their supporters in government have their days in the dock. ‘’The nation must ensure that such individuals are brought to book for their act of wickedness to humanity. ‘’In this regard, our party insists that all those indicted by the panel should be arrested, prosecuted and dealt with in accordance with our laws. ‘’The PDP again commiserates with the families of the slain young Nigerians, who were cut in their prime for demanding a just, equitable and secure nation governed by the rule of law.’’ Meanwhile, the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters (Lagos EndSARS Panel), under the leadership of Justice Doris Okuwobi, had on Monday through the report, revealed the roles played by the officers of the Nigerian Army, police and officials of Lekki Concession Company (LCC) in distorting facts of the “controversial” killing and forced disappearances of harmless and unarmed youths protesting at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, last year. The panel sat for over one year, listening to testimonies of petitioners, witnesses, experts, and lawyers, treating 235 petitions and awarding N410 million as compensation to 70 victims. According to the 309-page report obtained by New National Star, which was submitted to Governor SanwoOlu on Monday, the LCC deliberately frustrated the effort of the panel and gave compromised information to derail the investigation.
It stated, “The panel found that LCC hampered the panel’s investigation by refusing to turn over some useful and vital information/evidence as requested by the Panel and the Forensic Expert engaged by the panel, even where such information and evidence was by the company’s admission, available. “It manipulated the incomplete CCTV Video footage of the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th of October 2020, which it tendered before the Panel.” Also, according to the report of the panel, out of 48 listed protesters, 9 were shot dead, 4 unaccounted for, while 24 sustained life threatening gunshot injuries. Accordingly, the panel made 32 recommendations, demanding that “a public apology should be made to ENDSARS protesters, who were killed, injured and traumatized by the Incident of the 20th of October 2020.” The panel stated: “Upon the above key findings amongst others, the panel made a total of 32 recommendations, which included but not limited to: Holistic police reforms covering welfare, training and proper equipping of policemen and their working environment.
“Sanctioning of the officers of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force, respectively, who participated in shooting, injuring and killing of unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20 and 21st of October 2020; Development of more robust engagement between the Youth and the Government; “Setting up of a standing committee/tribunal to deal with cases of violation of human rights by security agencies and a trust fund to settle compensation awarded by such committee/tribunal; A public apology to ENDSARS protesters who were killed, injured and traumatized by the Incident of the 20th of October 2020; “The memorialisation of the Lekki Toll Gate and the 20th of October going forward; The recognition of hospitals and Medical Doctors who played heroic roles following the Incident of the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October 2020 thereby saving lives and minimizing the impact of the injuries suffered by the victims, most of which were on a pro-bono basis; “The Panel recommended various sums of compensation to victims of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident, which must be expeditious in order to accelerate the healing process.
“The Panel recommended that any data that may have been generated over the years on the impunity of the Police across Nigeria be studied and deployed as early warning signs (EWS) mechanism.” Also, page 294 of the report read: “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters, while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags, while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a ‘massacre’ in context.” In page 295: “It was alleged and corroborated that the soldiers had their vans parked at the Lekki Toll Gate and removed as many bodies and corpses of the fallen protesters which they took away with their vans.” According to the report, “The Nigerian Army was invited for intervention in the State and was deployed to Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October 2020. “At the Lekki Toll Gate, officers of the Nigerian Army shot, injured and killed unarmed helpless and defenseless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag and singing the National Anthem and the manner of assault and killing could, in context, be described as a massacre. “The Panel also found that the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated by its refusal to allow ambulances render medical assistance to victims who required such assistance. The Army was also found not to have adhered to its own Rules of Engagement. “The Panel found that the Nigerian Police Force deployed its officers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th October, 2020 and between that night and the morning of the 21st of October, 2020, its officer shot at, assaulted and battered unarmed protesters, which led to injuries and deaths. “The police officers also tried to cover up their actions by picking up bullets.
“The Panel found that there was an invitation of the Nigerian Army to Lagos State made by the Lagos State Government through the Governor before the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army deployed its soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th of October. “The Panel found that there was an attempt to cover up the Incident of the 20th of October by the cleaning of the Lekki Toll Gate and the failure to preserve the scene ahead of potential investigations.” The report of the panel has been eliciting reactions from different parts of the country and abroad, especially as the federal government had repeatedly denied any incident of shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate, with the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, daring Nigerians, especially complaining families, to produce corpses to prove any incident of lethal shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate.
However, with the latest development, while commending the panel for being unbiased, Nigerians have called on the federal government to implement all the recommendations, especially with regards to punishment of erring security agencies and compensation of affected families. While receiving the report on Monday, Sanwo-Olu said that he would forward the recommendations to the federal government for implementation. He said, “It is instructive for us to put it out on record that the panel has been totally independent. The panel has had its full request and has been given full authority to summon to inquire, to ask, to request anybody or anything so wish that would help them come to conclusion.
“As the governor, I have not seen any of the panel members including the chairperson who I saw last on October 19, neither have I put a phone call to her or paid her any visits or asked her for anything. In fact, before then I had never met her until the 19th of October. “I believe that the submission of the reports would kickstart healing for those that have suffered in the hands of the police. I commend the conduct and proceedings of the panel. I will forward copies of the reports to the National Executive Council (NEC) this week.”