Falana and Malami
Femi Falana (SAN), the favored Nigerian human rights lawyer, has stated all those that tried to cowl up the shootings on the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020, should be sanctioned for complicity.
Particularly, Falana stated the Minister of Data and Tradition, Lai Mohammed; the Legal professional Basic of Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami (SAN); in addition to the managers of the toll gate, the Lekki Concession Firm; must be sanctioned for attempting to cowl up the "crimes against humanity committed at the toll gate" in the course of the EndSARS protests final 12 months.
Following the shootings and the reported killings on the Lekki toll gate, the Lagos State Authorities had constituted the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Associated Abuses and different issues to, amongst different issues, probe the Lekki incident.
On Monday, after a couple of 12 months, the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel submitted its report back to the Lagos State Authorities, noting that not less than 9 individuals have been confirmed useless on the Lekki toll plaza when troopers stormed the tollgate to disperse EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.
The 309-page report said, "The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags and while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a massacre in context."
It advisable that every one military officers deployed within the Lekki tollgate must be made to face acceptable disciplinary motion, stripped of their ranks and dismissed as they weren't match and correct to serve in any public or safety service of the nation.
The US, the United Nations, the UK and Amnesty Worldwide have since known as on the Nigerian authorities to make sure that the panel's report is dealt with transparently.
Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who obtained the report on Monday, constituted a Committee to deliver ahead a White Paper throughout the subsequent two weeks to be thought-about by the Lagos State Government Council.
The PUNCH experiences that the panel's report negates the constant declare by the Federal Authorities of Nigeria that there was no "massacre" on the toll gate, a focal gathering level throughout final 12 months's nationwide demonstration in opposition to extrajudicial killings and police brutality by operatives of the now-defunct Particular Anti-Theft Squad of the Nigeria Police Drive.
Minister of Data, Lai Mohammed, had at varied instances maintained that the Lekki incident was a "massacre without bodies" and had threatened to sue Cable Information Community and different worldwide our bodies that claimed in any other case.
Malami had additionally stated those that attacked the youths at Lekki toll gate weren't troopers however wore army camouflages whereas the LCC had allegedly eliminated the closed-circuit tv on the toll gate in a transfer that had been broadly described as a cover-up.
Talking on Thursday, Falana stated those that launched the Lekki panel report feared cover-up by the federal government, therefore, they launched the report back to the general public to know their findings.
He spoke on Channels Tv's 'Sunrise Daily' programme monitored by The PUNCH.
Falana, who stated the report is likely one of the finest to date within the nation, added that there isn't any room for a cover-up.
The human rights lawyer famous that Mohammed, Malami, the LCC and all those that tried to cowl up the killings at Lekki should be sanctioned.
When requested whether or not the President, Main Basic Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), ought to converse on the report of the panel, Falana stated, "No, not but; the President made a broadcast final 12 months in 2020 based mostly on the knowledge given to him. I'm certain you might be conscious that 5 instances, the Minister of Data, Alhaji Lai Mohammed has stated no person was killed. The Legal professional Basic of the Federation, Mr Abubakar Malami (SAN), stated those that appeared in Lekki weren't Nigerian troopers however folks simply placed on army uniforms to perpetrate atrocities.
"And the panel found that even LAWMA (Lagos State Waste Management Authority) went there to do a clean-up in the night, in the early hours of 21st (of October 2020) so that there would be no trail but by the time the panel visited the scene of the incident they were still able to pick some expired bullets."
"The panel painstakingly analysed the evidence of every witness before arriving at the conclusion. So, it is difficult to cover up what happened on that day," he added.
On what ought to occur to the federal officers who allegedly tried to cowl up, the senior advocate stated, "They are all going to be sanctioned. Anybody who attempted to cover up would be sanctioned, any of them including those who managed Lekki, the LCC, because they disabled their system in order to cover up."
