WEDNESDAY- 17th November, 2021: Human rights lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), has commended the members of the EndSARS panel for the report on the alleged killings of protesters at the Lekki toll gate that it submitted to the Lagos State government.
Falana also recommended that the report of the panel be forwarded to the President Muhammadu Buhari.
He said this in a statement titled, ‘Lagos State is Duty Bound to Implement the Recommendations of the Okuwobi Judicial Commission of Inquiry’.
The Interim Chair for the Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond, also said members of the panel deserved commendation for the thorough investigation of police brutality in Lagos State.
He noted, “In particular, the revelation that some of the 99 dead bodies dumped in the various mortuaries in Lagos by soldiers were traced to the Lekki tollgate has exposed the official lie that the report of the brutal killings was a figment of the imagination of the protesters.
“A certified copy of the report of the panel should be forwarded to President Muhammadu Buhari in view of the recommendation that the soldiers and police personnel, who engaged in the torture and reckless murder of citizens, be sanctioned.”
While urging the state government to accelerate the issuance of the White Paper as well as the implementation of the far-reaching recommendations,
the activist said the policemen, who were killed by criminal elements during the protests, should be honoured notwithstanding that their family members had been compensated by the Lagos State Government.
“The violent attack on unarmed protesters during peaceful rallies by police and military personnel should be completely outlawed since Section 83 (4) of the Police Establishment Act, 2020 has imposed a duty on the police to provide adequate security for citizens, who participate in peaceful meetings and rallies,” Falana said.
