Robert Obioha
Since the report of the Lagos EndSARS panel, which investigated the Lekki Tollgate killings and others was leaked to the public before its submission to Lagos State government, the gulf between those in government, the powers that be and the people, the marginalized citizens, has deepened. The uneasiness in government circles, Abuja in particular, over the unexpected outcome of the Lagos judicial panel of investigation, headed by retired Judge of the Lagos High Court, Justice Doris Okuwobi, is quite understandable.
The hailing of the verdict of the panel on EndSARS protests in Lagos is also understandable too. Members of the public hailed the report probably because it is in line with their expectations or very close to them. For the first time in many, many years, they noticed a marked departure from the ugly past when the report of such investigations was shrouded in secrecy until the almighty government’s White Paper is released. Why should there be an endless wait for a White Paper before the report of a panel would be made public?
In this part of the world, the White Paper will always be distorted and vaguely capture the wishes or expectations of the masses. But the Lagos panel appears to be significantly different. The panelists told truth to power and their effrontery must have terribly rattled the powers that be. Those in Abuja are uncomfortable with the outcome of the report, which indicted its security agents in the Lekki massacre. Based on what Abuja and its agents are saying about the panel’s report recently, those who leaked the report actually acted on the side of the people. Their reason for leaking the report is right and just. They cannot be faulted. They have saved the situation by being on the side of the people.
Forget the so-called inaccuracies and distortions allegedly contained in the report or the embellishments. No matter what the federal government is saying, Nigerians are inclined to believe the leaked version of the report hence they have praised the panel members for a commendable and patriotic work. Whether officials from Abuja recognized the patriotic work you have done or not, the masses are solidly behind you all.
What might have riled the federal government is the fact that the panel report established that over nine people were killed at the Lekki Tollgate when protesters were there singing the national anthem and waving the Nigerian flag, the symbol of our sovereignty. Four more people were also presumed dead, while the incident recorded 48 casualties. There were other gory details that will not be repeated here.
The panel did not invent the facts. The facts are there for all to see. The facts are verifiable. Truth, they say, is immutable. No amount of cover-up or blackmail will extinguish the truth. There is a big difference between fact and fiction. There is also a difference between light and darkness. While truth will always remain truth, falsehood will always remain falsehood no matter how many times it is dished out.
Before then, the rumour was rife that soldiers cannot shoot at defenceless Nigerian youths waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem. But when the reality dawned on them, it was a different story altogether, the story of tears, sorrow and blood and unbelievably harvest of deaths. This reality has punctured government’s earlier stand that no life was lost at the Lekki Tollgate, a claim vigorously canvassed by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed. The tragedy of the Lekki massacre is that the government is still living in denial and reeling out outlandish claims and falsehood when the truth is obvious.
It is a pity that it did not occur to Mohammed that Nigerians watched the killing scenes through national television stations and the CNN and others. It did not also occur to Mohammed and his few supporters that the gory scenes were all over the social media, the internet and the traditional media. The dismissal of the report of the Lagos EndSARS panel report by Mohammed falls into his usual pattern of reductionism. Lai has formed the habit of dismissing anything he feels does not favour the government at the centre. He will go to any length to defend the indefensible and make white look black and vice versa.
Despite the stand of Lai Mohammed and his few co-travelers, human rights lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana (SAN) and some other informed legal minds have spoken in defence of the panel’s report and its legality. To them, there is nothing illegal about the panel and its investigation of activities of military and police officers in relation to the EndSARS protests. Falana cited many examples to buttress his claim, which cannot be rehashed here. And Nigerians agreed with them that Lagos State government has a right to set up such panels.
For goodness sake, we are in a federation. Those in power should remember that we are in democratic dispensation and that the rule of law and due process must always prevail in all matters. In everything we do whether in government or out of government, let justice prevail. The federal government should not breathe down on the state government and the state government should not treat the local government with disdain.
The report of the Lagos EndSARS panel cannot be described as tales by moonlight or a joke or a waste of the tax payers’ money as Lai Mohammed has done. The panel was legally constituted and its members are highly esteemed individuals and professionals. Unfortunately, the Lagos State government’s White Paper on the EndSARS panel report rubbished major findings of the panel because of alleged gaps. However, it accepted 11 out of the 32 recommendations, modified six and rejected one. It also rejected the finding that nine people were killed at Lekki Tollgate but accepted that only one person was killed. It also forwarded 14 of the recommendations to the federal government for further action. Saying that no person was killed at the Lekki Tollgate is gratuitous insult on the intelligence of Nigerians. The Lagos state’s stand is insensitive to the victims and their traumatized families.
Sadly, Lagos appeared to have toed the line of Lai Mohammed who has insisted that no life was lost at Lekki Tollgate incident. We hope this will not be the end of the matter on the Lekki killings. The peace walk by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos state is mere tokenism. It is not going to achieve much in healing the wounds of Lekki Tollgate killings. There will be no peace without justice. Therefore, let Lagos State government implement the recommendations it has accepted, while the federal government should implement those forwarded to it.
Let similar panels in other states of the federation come out with their reports as well. They should not be cowed by the body language of the central government as represented by Lai Mohammed and a few others. The events of the EndSARS protests of October last year must see the light of the day. The victims of such police brutality must get justice while the perpetrators of such heinous crimes will be given condign punishment. That is the only way to ensure that justice prevailed.
Those in government should always remember that there is life after government. They must not play God while there. Let them endeavor to tell the government the truth, the inconvenient truth, and be on the side of the people, who they are going to meet at the end of service. After May 2023, it is likely that some of them pontificating and grandstanding today will be on the other side of Nigerian reality with those they victimized.
