Minister of Information Lai
Mohammed has thrown the report of the Lagos Judicial Panel into the dustbin,
insisting there was no massacre at Lekki Toll Gate.
Mohammed said he was out of
Nigeria when the report of the EndSARS judicial panel was submitted to the Lagos
State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu last week.
He has now digested the report
and at a press conference in Abuja Tuesday, listed 10 gaping holes in the
report:
Read him verbatim:
It’s no longer news that the
Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry that investigated cases of police
brutality as well as the incident of Oct. 20th, 2020, at Lekki Toll Gate in
Lagos has submitted its report. The submission happened while I was out of the country
on national assignment. Unlike many commentators and analysts, we took our time
to read and digest the report, and we are now well placed to respond.
Without mincing words, let me say
that 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. What
is circulating in public space is simply a rehash of the unverified fake news that
has been playing on social media since the incident of Oct.
20th 2020. It is simply
incredible that a Judicial Panel set up to investigate an incident has
submitted a report laden with allegations, the same allegations it was set up
to investigate in the first instance. Instead of sitting for all of 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. That
report is nothing but the triumph of fake news and the intimidation of a silent
majority by a vociferous lynch mob.
We have read some critical
analysis of the report by a courageous few. One commentator, a lawyer, said it
raised more questions than answers. Another commentator, a journalist, called it
a ‘disgraceful report by a disgraceful panel’, saying it reported allegations
instead of investigating the allegations. Yet another wondered how a Judicial
Panel could use the words ‘massacre in context’ and equate such to a massacre.
All these and many more have raised valid questions on that report. We salute
their courage and refusal to be cowed by the rampaging lynch mob that has been
screaming blue murder since the report was released.
We do not intend to bore you by
rehashing details of the discrepancies, innuendoes, inconsistencies and errors
in that report. They are already in the public space. Let us, however, point
out some key highlights of such discrepancies, errors, omissions, etc.
The report threw away the
testimony of ballistic experts who testified before it. The experts said, inter
alia, in their testimony:
”The Team finds that from the
medical data examined, including the timeline of arrival at medical facility
and the nature of the injuries sustained by the Victims, who were taken to the
5 medical facilities, that no military grade live ammunition (high-velocity)
was fired at the protesters at Lekki Tollgate on 20th October 2020, within the timeframe
of reference (18.30- 20.34hrs). That the GSW (Gun Shot Wounds) injuries (4 in
number between 19:05 and 19:45 hrs), which were examined by the Team, can be
safely identified as being discharged by either low velocity caliber and/or
artisanal/12-gauge firearms (artisanal firearms are locally-fabricated
weapons). What is however certain is that had the military personnel
deliberately fired military grade live ammunition directly at the protesters;
there would have been significantly more fatalities and catastrophic injuries recorded.
This was clearly not the case.’’
The same panel that said it
deemed as credible the evidence of the Forensic Pathologist, Prof. John
Obafunwa, that only three of the bodies on which post mortem were conducted
were from Lekki and only one had gunshot injury went on to contradict itself by
saying nine persons died of gunshot wounds at Lekki!
The man whose evidence (that he
counted 11 bodies in a military van where he was left for dead before he
escaped) was found to be crucial by the panel never testified in person.
Rather, the video of his ‘testimony’ was played by someone else. It did not
occur to the panel to query the veracity of the testimony of a man who said he
was shot and presumed dead but still had time to count dead bodies inside a
supposedly dark van at night!
The panel said trucks with
brushes underneath were brought to the Lekki Toll Gate in the morning of Oct.
21 2020 to clean up bloodstains and other evidence, but still found bullet
casings at the same site when it visited on Oct. 30th 2020. It said soldiers
picked up bullet casings from Lekki Toll Gate on the night of Oct. 20th 2020,
yet claimed that policemen came to the same spot to pick the same bullet
casings on Oct. 21st 2020!
The panel was silent on the
family members of those reportedly killed, merely insinuating they were afraid
to testify. Even goats have owners who will look for them if they do not return
home, not to talk of human beings. Where are the family members
of those who were reportedly
killed at Lekki Toll Gate? If the panel is recommending compensation for the
families, what are their identities and addresses? Who will receive the
compensations when no family members have shown up to date?
How did a man who reported seeing
the lifeless body of his brother himself ended up being on the list of the
panel’s deceased persons?
How can a Judicial Panel convince
anyone that the names of some casualties of the Lekki Toll Gate incident listed
as numbers 3 (Jide), 42 (Tola) and 43 (Wisdom) are not fictitious names.
Why did the Judicial Panel feel
compelled to concoct a ”massacre in context” as a euphemism for ”massacre”? A
massacre is a massacre. What is “massacre in context?”
The report never mentioned cases
of police personnel who were brutally murdered or the massive destruction of
police stations, vehicles, e.t c during the Endsars protest. Does this mean
that the panel didn’t consider policemen and women as human beings?
The report didn’t make any
recommendation on the innocent people whose businesses were attacked and
destroyed during the protest in Lagos. I think it was too busy looking for
evidence to support its conclusion of ‘massacre in context’.
It is clear, from the ongoing,
that the report of the panel in circulation cannot be relied upon because its
authenticity is in doubt. Besides, the Lagos State Government, being the
convening authority, has yet to release any official report to the public.
Neither has the panel done so.
The cowardly leakage of an unsigned report to the public is not enough.
Assuming the report in circulation bears any iota of genuineness, it is basic
knowledge that the report of such a panel is of no force until the convening
authority issues a White Paper and Gazette on it. It is therefore too premature
for any person or entity to seek to castigate the Federal Government and its
agencies or officials based on such an unofficial and unvalidated report.
CNN AND OTHERS
The CNN has been celebrating the
leaked report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry. In its rush to
claim vindication, CNN apparently didn’t even read the report before rolling
out the drums in celebration. By that action, CNN has celebrated prematurely
and has now committed a double faux pas: First, by relying on unverified social
media stories and videos to carry out an investigation of the Oct. 20th 2020
incident at Lekki, where it did not have a correspondent on ground. CNN goofed
in its report on the findings of the panel, which fell below the main standards
of journalism. Secondly, CNN rushed to the air to celebrate an unsigned and
unverified report that is riddled with inconsistencies, errors, discrepancies,
innuendoes. That’s double faux pas by a news organization that is eager and
willing to compromise standards just to claim vindication.
Sadly, a section of the Nigerian
media has also joined the lynch mob. Honestly, in an attempt to vilify
government at all costs, they have done themselves a great disservice. How can
any news organization worth its salt write an Editorial validating this kind of
report? Are they not seeing what others, including journalists and lawyers, are
seeing? In a shocking twist, a Nigerian newspaper chose to hail what it calls
‘’detailed investigative report’’ by CNN, even when the news channel did not
even cover the incident of Oct. 20th 2020! It’s a classic case of cutting your
nose to spite your face.
CONCLUSIONS
Gentlemen, there is absolutely
nothing in the report that is circulating to make us change our stand that
there was no massacre at Lekki on Oct. 20th 2020. For us to change our stand, a
well-investigated report of the incident that meets all required standards and
will withstand every scrutiny must be produced and presented to the public. The
report in circulation does not meet those requirements. We also appeal to the
families of those allegedly killed in Lekki to speak out. It’s untenable to say
that some families did not come out because they are afraid. Any parent who is
afraid to testify about the death of his or her child is not worth to be called
a parent.
We reject the notion that our
soldiers and policemen massacred innocent Nigerians at Lekki on Oct. 20th 2020.
That conclusion is not supported by the weight of available evidence.
Indictment for murder is a very serious issue that cannot be done on the basis
of allegations and corroborations, as the panel did. Such allegations must be
proved beyond a reasonable doubt. The report in circulation is calculated to
embarrass the Federal Government and its agencies without foolproof evidence.
The Federal Government has never condoned the abuse of the rights of Nigerians
by security agencies under any guise, hence it disbanded SARS and encouraged
states to set up the panels to investigate reports of human rights abuses
allegedly committed by the disbanded SARS personnel
The 37 policemen and six soldiers
who died across the country during the Endsars protest are also Nigerians and
should not be forgotten.
Those who have engaged in
premature celebration of the report in circulation should now go back and read
it thoroughly and tell Nigerians whether it can pass any serious scrutiny.
We are saddened that anyone died
at all during the Endsars protest as the life of every Nigerian and indeed
every human is sacrosanct. As we have disclosed many times, 57 civilians, 37
policemen and six soldiers were killed across the country during the protest,
and we commiserate with their families.
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