Youth representatives on the judicial panel established by
the Lagos state government to investigate the October 20 Lekki shooting
incident have disagreed with the reopening of the tollgate.
At its sitting on Saturday, the panel granted approval for
the return of tollgate to the control of Lekki Concession Company (LCC).
The LCC has been praying to the panel since December for a
take over of the plaza for repair and insurance claims.
But in statement released shortly after the panel
announcement, Rinu Oduala and Temitope Majekodunmi, the two youth
representatives on the nine-man panel, said their views were not reflected in
the panel ruling.
They disagreed with the approval saying such move would
hinder the successful completion of ongoing investigation on the incident.
“The Youth Reps at the Lagos judicial panel of inquiry and
restitution for victims of SARS related abuses & Lekki Toll Gate Incident
will like to formally express our dissent to the Order allowing for the
repossession of Lekki Toll Gate,” the statement reads.
“We’d like to remind the public this panel was set up on our
5 For 5 demands during the nationwide protests against police brutality. So any
decision without considering the opinions of the Youth Reps reflected in the
rulings will be in violation of Rules setting up this Panel
“We have made efforts
to communicate our position on the application by LCC to take repossession of
the Lekki Toll Gate to the Chairlady as required by the Rules of the Panel but
our dissent wasn’t reflected in the ruling.”
The youth representatives said their position is in line
with panel’s obligation of ensuring impartiality “throughout hearings for
victims and contribute to fair, effective, efficient conduct of its hearings
and more importantly, for voices of victims not be silenced in the course of
this assignment”.
The youth representatives explained that the LCC has refused
to provide critical information meant for the completion of forensic report.
They demanded that the Lekki toll gate should remain shut
and under the purview of the panel until full investigations and hearings are
concluded.
“We understand from the Forensic Report submitted by the
expert employed by the panel, LCC management has, despite requests, failed to
provide information, which include access to servers; who ordered the
extraction of CCTV footage; date & time of extraction of the footage from
the CCTV; method used for the extraction as well as such other information
which may be useful for purposes of the forensic examination & report,” it
reads.
“None of these have been provided by LCC and so it is
impossible to conclude that investigations are over. It is therefore imperative
that the Lekki Toll Gate management should not allowed to repossess the toll
gate until full investigations are concluded.
“This is especially important as victims of the Lekki Toll Incident
are yet to be heard and the public is still in the dark on the full details of
the Incidence.
“Based on these fact, we are of the considered view that the
Lekki Toll Gate remain shut and under the purview of the Panel until full
investigations and hearings are concluded by this Panel.
“We do not have any intention to obstruct the rulings of the
panel. We only want our dissent to be on record. We are committed to ensuring
justice for victims.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayLEKKI TOLL GATE REOPENING:
— Lagosyouthreps (@lagosyouthreps) February 6, 2021
The Youth Reps at the Lagos judicial panel of inquiry and restitution for victims of SARS related abuses & Lekki Toll Gate Incident will like to formally express our dissent to the Order allowing for the repossession of Lekki Toll Gate.
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