Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a member of the Judicial Panel of
Inquiry on EndSARS brutality has explained how the panel arrived at massacre at
the Lekki Tollgate.
The panel, in its report said there was truly a massacre at
the Lekki Tollgate, accusing the army and police of shooting and killing nine
people, with many others injured.
But the White Paper issued by the Lagos State Government
rubbished the report of the panel, saying there was no massacre at the Lekki
Tollgate, as the report is full of inconsistencies.
Adegboruwa had promised to respond to the White Paper of the
government at the appropriate time.
He issued a detail rebuttal of the government’s White Paper
on Thursday.
Adegboruwa said the panel arrived at the word massacreby
considering several definitions of the word MASSACRE and adopted one of the
dictionary meanings of MASSACRE as being ‘the act or instance of killing a
number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of
atrocity or cruelty.’
He said the panel also reviewed several documents and
testimonies before it and then arrived at its position that a massacre occurred
at the Lekki Tollgate.
Read full text below
COMMENTS ON LASG WHITE PAPERS ON ENDSARS PANEL REPORTS
1.00 INTRODUCTION
1.01
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution
for Victims of SARS Related Abuses (Panel) was constituted and officially
inaugurated on 19th October, 2020. Upon completion of its assignment, the Panel
submitted two sets of Reports to the Lagos State Government, (LASG) on November
15, 2021. There have been several developments since the submission of these
Reports, the most prominent of which were that the LASG and indeed the Federal
Government, through some Ministers, rejected part of the said Reports,
especially the one relating to the Incident of October 20, 2020 at the Lekki
Toll Gate, (LTG).
1.02
The LASG subsequently released two White Papers on the two
Reports of the Panel on November 30, 2021. Please find below comments on the
said White Papers, for your kind information and review.
A.WHITE PAPER ON GENERAL POLICE BRUTALITY CASES (WP1)
INCONSISTENCY OF FACTS IN WP1
2.00
It is important to state from the outset that the Panel did
not sit on any Petition dated 10th October, 2021, contrary to the facts stated
on the Cover Page of WP1. Indeed, the Panel stopped receiving Petitions from
the general public from 22nd December 2020. This is a total misconception of
facts from the Committee that reviewed the Reports of the Panel. It is
necessary to point out this grave error or misconception, as the case may be,
in view of the needless hullabaloo following the minor error of tabular
alignments contained in one of the Reports of the Panel, as raised by the LASG.
EXECUTION OF PANEL’S DECISIONS
2.02
As could be seen in paragraph 2.4 of WP1, the Panel paid the
total sum of N409,700,000:00 to Seventy (70) Petitioners in respect of police
brutality and general human rights abuses. The LASG provided the funds for the
compensation. Thus, decisions of the Panel on Petitions were self-executory and
not subject to review or rejection by the LASG. This was the agreement and
modality adopted from the very day of inauguration of the Panel and it is covered
by the extant Tribunal of Inquiry Law section 15, under which the Panel was set
up.
ILLEGALITY OF WHITE PAPER
2.03
There is no provision for the issuance of a White Paper
under the law setting up the Panel. Under and by virtue of section 15 of the
Tribunal of Inquiry Law, upon conclusion of any inquiry, the Governor is only
empowered to issue directive for the enforcement of any decision emanating from
the inquiry. The Governor cannot issue a White Paper to overrule the decisions
of a Judicial Panel of Inquiry.
INCONSISTENCY OF POLICIES BY LASG
2.04
It is important to note the fact that the police is part of
the security agencies of the federal government over which the LASG has no
control statutorily, but it still accepted to pay compensation to victims of
police brutality, which act in itself is very commendable, save that the LASG
dithered when it came to compensation for victims of brutality by soldiers,
apparently because it was connected to the Incident of the Lekki Toll Gate of
October 20, 2020.
PETITIONS BY POLICE OFFICERS
2.05
In Paragraph 4.0 of the WP1, the LASG accepted decisions of
the Panel in respect of Petitions submitted by policemen and women who were
victims of one abuse or the other before, during or after the EndSARS protests.
These petitions relate to deaths, grievous injuries and loss of property. This
is contrary to and disproves the earlier narratives of lawyers and agents of
the LASG that the Panel did not consider the cases of police officers.
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF POLICE OFFICERS
2.06
The Panel recommended the investigation and prosecution of
certain police officers whose names featured prominently in the Petitions heard
and determined. In Paragraph 4.0 (ii) (a) & (b) of WP1, LASG undertook to
request for the casefiles of the outcome of investigations of these police
offices which would then be forwarded to the Director of Public Prosecutions
for action.
2.07
This is another clear instance of the game of pick and
choose, adopted by the LASG in respect of complaints against the police and the
army, both of which are outside the statutory control of the LASG but for the
fact that the complaints against the army relate to the Lekki Toll Gate, the
LASG would not touch them with a pole.
B.WHITE PAPER ON LEKKI TOLL GATE INCIDENT (WP2)
INTRODUCTION
4.00
The assignment of the Panel in respect of the Lekki Toll
Gate (LTG) Incident of 20th October 2020 was divided into two, being the
general investigation and hearing of individual petitions. This can be
confirmed in Paragraph 2.5 of WP2. It is instructive that it is the Report of
the Panel on LTG that has been the source of attack from the government as it
accepted and indeed commended the Panel on the Report on general police
brutality, even though both reports emerged from the same process and from the
same Panel.
PETITIONS RELATING TO LEKKI TOLL GATE
4.01
A total of Thirteen (13) Petitions were received by the
Panel in respect of the LTG, Twelve (12) were heard and one (1) was struck out.
A total sum of N237,000,000:00 was awarded by the Panel as compensation in
respect of these Petitions but the LASG government did not make any comment on
these awards, especially those of the individual petitions. These Petitions
were heard during the open proceedings of the Panel and the LASG through its
counsel participated actively in these hearings. The Petitioners whose cases
have been determined as successful should be paid like all others.
REFUSAL BY LASG TO COMPLY WITH DECISIONS OF THE PANEL
4.02
There is no provision in the Tribunals of Inquiry Law of
Lagos State which permits the Governor to overrule decisions of the Panel
conducted through open hearing. As stated earlier, the decisions of the Panel
were self-executory and compensations were paid to victims upon the success of
any Petition.
4.03
It is improper for LASG to pick and choose which decision of
the Panel it would comply with, on the alleged ground that the
soldiers/officers involved are outside its statutory control, whereas the same
LASG conveniently paid compensations awarded in respect of police brutality and
the police are similarly outside its statutory control.
ERRORS AND MISCONCEPTIONS OF WP2
4.04
WP2 overlooked critical evidence that the Panel considered
and it also misrepresented the findings and recommendations of the Panel in
many areas, to suit its narrative, such as Exhibit LLC A, which confirmed that
soldiers shot at unarmed peaceful protesters at the LTG on October 20, 2020,
the report of the forensic expert, Sentinel, that both live and blank bullets
were fired by soldiers, the testimony of many doctors that treated victims of
gunshot wounds, etc.
HOW THE PANEL ARRIVED AT FINDING OF MASSACRE
4.05
The Panel considered several definitions of the word
MASSACRE and adopted one of the dictionary meanings of MASSACRE as being ‘the
act or instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human
beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty.’ The Panel reviewed the
following documents and testimonies before it:
(i)Exhibit LCC A which was tendered by the Lekki Concession
Company, (LCC), being a Press Release issued by LCC on 21st October, 2020, the
day after the LTG Incident. In that document, it is stated that “LCC strongly
condemns the shooting of unarmed peaceful protesters at the Admiralty Circle
Toll Plaza yesterday, 20th October, 2020”. Panel found that the evidence
corroborated the case of the EndSARS protesters that the protest was peaceful,
orderly and coordinated, that soldiers invaded the protests and shot at
UNARMED, HELPLESS, UNRESISTING AND PEACEFUL protesters, which the Panel
considered as cruel and atrocious. It was in the CONTEXT of the nature of the
peaceful protest and the atrocious and cruel actions of the soldiers which led
to several deaths, that the Panel concluded on MASSACRE.
(ii)The Panel considered the fact as confirmed in Paragraph
1.1 of WP2, that LASG identified with the cause of the EndSARS protesters and
decided to allow them congregate at two main points at Government House,
Alausa, Ikeja and LTG. Also, LASG had already commenced dialogue with the
protesters with the Governor accepting to be their ambassador to the Federal
Government.
(iii)Panel
considered that in the circumstance of the above, the invitation and deployment
of the military was totally unwarranted, especially at the LTG, while not
faulting the decision of the Governor to restore law and order in other
volatile areas of the State.
(iv)The Panel considered that firing live bullets at
unarmed, peaceful and unresisting protesters which led to the death of some of
them, was cruel and atrocious on the part of the military and the police. The
White Paper ignored these explanations and findings by the Panel.
COVER UP OF MASSACRE
4.06
WP2 in its Paragraph 3.0 did not address the findings of the
Panel on the actions of certain agencies of government to cover up the
Massacre, as follows:
(i)The Panel accepted the report of its forensic expert,
Sentinel, that LCC manipulated its cameras in order to withhold material
evidence;
(ii)That LASG did not secure the scene of the LTG Incident
in order to facilitate proper investigation;
(iii)The Panel accepted the report of its forensic expert,
Sentinel, that LAWMA cleaned up the LTG after the protests, thus destroying
potential and useful evidence;
(iv)The Panel accepted the evidence of EndSARS protesters
that police were trailing them in order to intimidate and scare them from open
testimonies;
(v)That LASG did not release funds to conduct DNA tests on
the corpses as was done in the cases of Dana Air and Synagogue Church.
These vital findings were not addressed by LASG in WP2 at
all.
ALLEGED INCONSISTENCIES IN THE REPORT OF THE PANEL
4.07
The LASG in its WP2 misconceived the findings of the Panel
in relation to the Forensic Pathologist, Professor Obafunwa. The Panel DID NOT
state that Professor Obafunwa was the sole source of its conclusion on deaths
at the LTG but rather adopted his testimony as ONE of the sources of
confirmation of deaths.
4.08
Professor Obafunwa’s testimony related to 99 bodies which
were said to have been picked by Lagos State Environmental Health Management
Unit (LASEHMU). Three of these 99 bodies were said to come from LTG, based upon
the descriptions and markings on the bodies by LASEHMU. As Professor Obafunwa
did not pick these bodies himself and he was not the author of their
descriptions, he did not give evidence of the PLACE of death but rather the
CAUSE of death.
FINDINGS ON OTHER DEATHS FROM LEKKI TOLL GATE
4.09
In Paragraph 16 at Page 296 of the Report, the Panel made
the following vital finding:
“Panel finds the cases of death of or injured protesters as
credible and uncontroverted”.
Panel then proceeded to list the names identified by the
EndSARS protesters. This is not and cannot be inconsistent with the findings of
the Panel on the testimony of Professor Obafunwa, contrary to WP2.
EVIDENCE OF DEATHS AND INJURIES BY EYE WITNESSES
4.10
The Panel evaluated and believed the following testimonies
in relation to deaths and injuries from LTG:
(i)Serah Ibrahim personally testified as an eye witness of
shootings and deaths and the Panel believed her. She tendered videos and other
documents in proof and she was not discredited under cross-examination.
(ii)Olalekan Salami personally testified before the Panel
of dead bodies packed in the vans of soldiers wherein he was also taken for
dead in the same van and the Panel believed him.
(iii)Dabira Ayuku personally testified about bodies packed
in the vans of soldiers and the Panel believed her.
(iv)Onileowo Legend personally testified of deaths and
injuries from the LTG and the Panel believed him.
(v)Videos of evidence of deaths from families and relatives
of deceased persons from the LTG were tendered before the Panel, which it held
to be credible as they were not discredited under cross-examination.
(vi)There were individual petitions (13 in number) relating
to deaths and injuries (including amputations and multiple fractures) from the
LTG which the Panel heard and believed, upon full hearing.
(vii)In addition to all the above, Professor Obafunwa led
evidence and tendered documents relating to 99 dead bodies three of which he
said were brought from LTG.
(viii)There was no contrary evidence offered in rebuttal of
the above multiple evidence of deaths and injuries from the LTG.
(ix)The testimonies from the government were from
Brigadier-General Taiwo on behalf of the Nigerian Army, Mr. Hakeem Muri-Okunola
on behalf of the Lagos State Government and the DPO of Maroko Police Station.
All three of them stated that they were not physically present at the LTG on
October 20, 2020 and they did not witness the event at all.
DUPLICATION OF NAMES OF DECEASED PERSONS
4.11
In response to Recommendation 24 of the Panel, the LASG in
its WP2 stated that the names of Kolade Salami and Folorunsho Olabisi appeared
twice on the table as Nos. 37 and 38 at pages 297-298. This was a misnomer from
the spreadsheet that ought to have terminated at Page 297 but mistakenly
overlapped to Page 298 with the same names and same numbers. It was the
computer error of the Secretariat of the Panel which could have been corrected
as the Secretariat of the Panel was domiciled in the Ministry of Justice at all
times. In any event, the mere fact of repetition of same names on a table
cannot without more, nullify the uncontroverted evidence of death.
4.12
Nicholas Okpe, Ukala Patrick Ayide, Joshua Samuel and
Nathaniel Solomon jointly presented a Petition on the shooting and killing of
the late Abuta Solomon at the LTG. The Petition was heard by the Panel and it
reached a decision declaring the Petition as successful and awarded the sum of
N25M as compensation to the family of the deceased. Compensation was awarded
for this case because a separate Petition was presented on behalf of the
deceased and the Panel conducted a full hearing on it and so it had to render a
decision on the Petition. The family physically appeared before the Panel.
Nathaniel Solomon was erroneously listed as No.46 on the table by the
Secretariat of the Panel, which error should have been corrected by the LASG as
the Secretariat was at all times domiciled in the Ministry of Justice. The mere
listing of the Nathaniel Solomon on the table does not itself nullify the fact
of the death of his brother, Abuta Solomon, which the Panel confirmed.
4.12
The Chairperson, all Panel members and indeed the
Secretariat of the Panel were all within the reach of the LASG for
clarifications if there was sincerity, other than picking holes in order to
evade responsibility on account of computer errors and tabular alignments of
cut and paste.
AWARD TO SERAH IBRAHIM AND OTHER ENDSARS PROTESTERS
4.13
The EndSARS protest was a movement, a collective of various
interest groups pursuing a common agenda termed EndSARS. This much was
confirmed by the LASG through its witness before the Panel, Mr. Hakeem
Muri-Okunola who stated thus on 22nd June 2021 when he testified before the
Panel:
“I want to start my presentation with an introduction of
what the EndSARS protest meant to us at the time. It represented a
decentralized social movement asking for disbandment of the Special
Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) which had gained notoriety for series of brutalities
and abuses.”
4.14
The Panel took the cases of EndSARS protesters in
representative capacity, including the named and unnamed representatives of the
movement also recognized as such by the LASG. But for the EndSARS protesters,
the work of the Panel would have been extremely difficult, in respect of the
LTG. The Panel considered the trauma of the EndSARS protesters, some of who
were sand witched between dead bodies and could have been hit by the bullets,
the quality of their testimonies and the materials tendered. Serah Ibrahim
tendered live bullets and about 300 videos as evidence before the Panel. The
Panel also awarded compensation to other EndSARS protesters like Dabira Ayuku,
Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, Onileowo Legend, etc.
20TH OCTOBER AS ENDSARS MEMORIAL
4.15
The Panel recommended in its Report that 20th October of
every year should be a day of memorial. LASG accepted this recommendation “… in
the spirit of healing and reconciliation.” This same spirit should be extended
to all victims of the LTG Incident and payment of compensation made to them as
recommended by the Panel.
PAYMENT TO HOSPITALS FOR TREATMENT OF GUNSHOT WOUNDS
4.16
Based upon evidence before it, the Panel recommended to the
LASG that all hospitals involved in the treatment of victims of gunshot wounds
arising from the LTG should be paid the cost of such treatments. In its comment
in WP2, LASG stated that: “Lagos State Government had paid all the Hospitals.”
This is a clear admission of liability since government cannot pay for
treatment of gunshot wounds and still deny that there were gunshots at the LTG.
Government is urged to pay all other victims their compensation.
CONCLUSION
4.17
The Panel reiterates its gratitude to the government and
people of Lagos State for the opportunity given to serve and hopes that with
these clarifications, the government will commence the process of genuine
healing and reconciliation which it started through the payment of compensation
to deserving victims through the Panel.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, SAN
Lekki, Lagos.
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