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The Federal Government’s rejection of the report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters is hasty and presumptuous. While lampooning the report recently, the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, described it variously as the triumph of fake news and tales by the moonlight. He maintained his earlier stand that there was no massacre at Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020.
The leaked report, submitted on Monday, November 15, 2021, is two-pronged. One is on investigation on petitions on several abuses and killings by the Nigerian police, especially the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). The other is on the October 20, 2020 Lekki Tollgate shootings during the EndSARS protests. The report confirmed allegations that there were shootings at Lekki. The Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel awarded a total of N410 million to 70 victims of police brutality.
Nevertheless, as far as Mr. Lai Mohammed is concerned, “never in the history of any judicial panel in this country has its report been riddled with so many errors, inconsistencies, discrepancies, speculations, innuendoes, omissions and conclusions that are not supported by evidence.” He added that instead of sitting for one year, “the panel could have just compiled social media ‘tales by the moonlight’ on the incident and submitted, saving taxpayers’ funds and everyone’s time. The report was nothing but the triumph of fake news and the intimidation of a silent majority by a vociferous lynch mob.”
Inasmuch as some people have pointed out what they considered as inconsistencies and shortcoming in the report, including the fact that the panel listed victims without their surnames, we believe Lai Mohammed should have waited for Lagos State to conclude the process before jumping to conclusion. We know that the minister has been vehement in maintaining that soldiers killed no one in Lekki, Lagos, on October 20, 2020.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has constituted a four-member committee to raise a White Paper on the panel’s report and submit its report to the government in two weeks time. The governor pledged that the two reports and recommendations would be made public and submitted to the National Economic Council (NEC) for discussion. It is ironical that Lai Mohammed appears not to be on the same page with President Muhammadu Buhari on the whole matter. Buhari told the United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, who visited him recently, that he would wait for the reports from other state governments which set up similar panels to probe police brutality in the country before taking a decision on it. Blinken had expressed expectation that steps should be taken to ensure accountability and address grievances of the victims and their families.
It is unfortunate that the minister could not wait for the Lagos committee to submit its findings before rejecting the entire exercise. Whatever is the worth of the report, government owes the citizenry a duty to look into it and act on the recommendations. The Federal Government should tread with caution. The way some government functionaries use words, sometimes, paints us in bad light. Mr. Mohammed used inappropriate words. The premise upon which he used those words is faulty.
Lagos State Government took a wise decision by setting up the panel. It should not be intimidated. Governor Sanwo-Olu should stand by his words that government’s actions would be guided by the law and in the public interest. That’s the right thing to do.
