Counsel for the Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko,
has claimed that there are at least 40 discrepancies in the report submitted by
the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses
and Other Matters.
Owonikoko, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, who served as
counsel to the Lagos State Government during the year-long sitting of the EndSARS
judicial panel said this during an interview with Arise TV on Thursday.
Recall that Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel
on Monday, November 15 submitted its report to the Lagos State Government.
Findings of the 309-page report titled, ‘Report of Lekki
Incident Investigation Of 20th October 2020, showed that there was a “massacre
in context” at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.
The panel also claimed that at least 48 protesters were
either killed, injured, or assaulted by soldiers and police.
It also indicted the Lagos State Governor, Babajide
Sanwo-Olu, Lekki Concession Company, the police, and the army.
However, Owonikoko faulted some of the findings in the
report, adding that important details were omitted by the panel.
He also expressed concern that the findings and
recommendations of the panel were made public.
The lawyer said, “By law, the findings, conclusions, and
recommendations of the panel were not supposed to be made public. The report
making rounds on social media is a draft of a minority opinion because I was
there all through the proceedings.
“I am particularly shocked to read what is contained in the
report because it is not completely accurate. I sighted over 40 discrepancies
in this report, including awarding N15 million to someone who was a witness to
a police brutality incident that had nothing to do with the Lekki incident.
What kind of report is that?
“All the evidence we
were able to gather during the proceedings, none of them could be fully
established.
“The mistake made by the government was not setting up an
entirely different panel to look into the Lekki incident because there are some
members of the panel that are protagonists in the case against the Police. They
were not supposed to be a part of it.”
The panel was inaugurated on October 19, 2020, to look into
complaints of citizens against human rights abuses by the police. But following
the incident at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, the Terms of Reference
of the panel were expanded to cover that incident.
The panel was inaugurated on October 19, 2020, to look into
complaints of citizens against human rights abuses by the police. But following
the incident at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, the Terms of Reference
of the panel were expanded to cover that incident.
The panel sat for over one year, listening to testimonies of
petitioners, witnesses, experts, and lawyers.
The panel treated 235 petitions and awarded N410 million as
compensation to 70 victims.
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