In the last 72 hours, the internet space has been awash with the report of the judiciary Panel of inquiry on Endsars which claimed that the army, the Nigerian government and the Lagos State government connived together to massacre defenseless protesters at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020. Part of the report also established that the army shot at, assaulted and battered unarmed protesters, which led to injuries and deaths.
The report also added that soldiers abducted the bodies of many of their victims, put them in their truck and left the scene of the massacre.
The panel also noted that the soldiers “removed many bodies and corpses of fallen protesters which they took away in their vans and that one of the protesters who was shot and taken for dead, Olalekan Sanusi, who eventually escaped stated that 11 corpses were in the van while another Miss Dabira Ayuku narrated that she saw about 7 dead bodies placed in one of the military trucks.
Also in the report, it was stated that; Three (3) trucks with brushes underneath were brought to the Lekki Toll Gate in the morning by Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) of October 21st October 2020 to clean up the scene of bloodstains and other evidence.
VERIFYING THE CLAIM :
- That all EndSARS protesters were peaceful is not a true representation. The picture below reveals one of the members of the endears with Pistol gun who flamboyantly displayed the fire arm with readiness to shoot any Government security forces.
2. The inconsistency in the deceased figure is quite ridiculous. For example, DJ switch said she counted 78 bodies on that October 20 night, CNN reported 56 bodies, BBC quoted 35. More confusion as feminist co. mentioned 23 bodies, a corroborated witness story Olalekan sanusi claimed to have seen 11 bodies and now again, the panel recorded 9 bodies. Why is the differences in the claimed dead body figures? Are the figures meant to incite social mob, gain public sympathy, blackmail the Government, attract funds donations? These are important questions to ask.
3. Prof. John Obafunwa, a consultant anatomic and forensic pathologist mentioned that the coroners office conducted post mortem autopsies on 99 bodies between the October 20 and 27, only three were identified as victims from the Lekki tollgate, the first body simply showed a fracture, a laceration on the left side of the skull and a body that was already decomposing, while the second death was as a result of skull and brain injury which was due to blunt force trauma, while the third was a result of gun shot injury. Then how could the panel arrived at 9 deceased bodies? This is not adding up…
4. The claim that Lawma cleaned the evidence scene on 21st of October 2020 is false. A social media post of Arise TV who monitored the protests revealed the damages done at the the tollgate on the following morning. LAWMA moved to the scene on the 23rd of October to clean up the damages done as posted on their social media handle. Then how can the panel come up with false Twitter claim that the waste management agency brought brushes and cleaners in the morning; 21st of October?
5. Looking at the list of casualties of the lekki incident of 20th October, 2020, critical scrutiny of the names will keep you wondering if the panel takes Nigerians for fools. Let’s revisit the names;
i. Victim 1 – Nathaniel Solomon and Abuta Solomon
Nathaniel Solomon narrated his ordeal to Punch Newspaper on September 11, 2021 where he expressed how shocking to have seen his brother’s lifeless body at Lekki tollgate. Unsuspectingly Solomon tagged Abuta Solomon in the post which confirmed his brother name. Then this raises a big question; why was Nathaniel Solomon named among the deceased in the Lekki incident of October 20th 2020 whereas he granted interview in 2021? Is it not possible that Nathaniel was actually peddling lies about his brother death? Why was the panel pressured to mention Nathaniel Solomon name?
ii. Victim JTW- Jide, Tola, Wisdom
These individual names has no surname. In a tensed situation surrounding the acclaimed massacre, it’s indefensible to have put the names in a report seeking to establish murder charges against the state. The desperate inclusion of these names by the panel having a retired justice of an high court in the committee keeps one dismayed and stunned why such evidence could be admitted. Let’s not believe the Legal luminary was compromised, else the claim do not add up.
iii. Victim Kolade Johnson
It’s all over the internet that the Victim Kolade Johnson was shot during a raid by officers of the Nigeria Police Command at Onipetesi, Lagos-Abeokuta Road, while watching an English premiership match between Tottenham and Manchester United on 31st of March, 2019.
It’s also on record that Lagos state Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu and the then Lagos Commissioner of Police, Zubair Muazu, visited Johnson’s family at that time and late kolade family with deep humility got compensated.
So if the lekki incident happened in October 2020, why was Kolade name included in the deceased register? A calculated falsehood.
iv. Victim Folorunso Olabisi
Promoters of the EndSARS movement confirmed that Folorunso Olabisi was shot by the Army and his corpse deposited at St. Nicholas Hospital, VI, Lagos. The Management of the Hospital later debunked the malicious claims that they did not receive any corpse in their hospital. Till date, no one has countered the claim of St. Nicholas Hospital. How the name Folorunso Olabisi came up in the report as deceased victim, cannot be unconnected with lies riddled in the panel report.
v. Victim Chimezie Stanley Nnatah
23 year old amputee, Chimezie Stanley Nnatah narrated how he lost his right leg to a stray bullet on October 21. He explained that he was returning from work on October 21, 2020 when the incident happened. Then again, why was his name reported among the casualties of October 20th, 2020 lekki incident? An inaccurate report, that’s the only answer.
vi. Victims x,y,z…
There is another category of casualties known as victims x,y,z. The names Kenechukwu Ugoh, Olalekan Abideen Ashafa, Olamilekan Ajasa etc has no semblance or identity on the social media platforms. For a movement like EndSARS driven by social engagement, it’s is highly possible that these names are figment of imagination to pile up names on the casualties list. It appears the panel relied on hearsay or became a victim of social grouping.
vi. Undeclared Victims
The panel findings in all its reportage failed to mention policemen who were killed, burned, suffered the cannibal treatment; damaged properties and Public infrastructure estimated around 1 trillion, Oba’s palace destroyed and so many atrocities committed against state institutions were not recorded. This is an assault to Lagosians whose businesses suffered setback as a result of looting and mob attacks.
This fact claim is enough to invalidate the panel’s report. It’s an unforgivable error.
6. Discrepancy in Report submitted to the Lagos state Government
The final straw that broke the camel’s back is the confirmation by a member of the judiciary panel of Inquiry, Tope Majekodunmi who confirmed authoritatively that the report in circulation does not reflect the final report submitted to the Lagos state Government; he admitted that the report was edited twice before final submission.
Why was the final report submitted not released to the public? What’s the motive behind publishing a blackmailing report for public consumption? Is this another subtle way to stir another crisis? These questions begs for urgent answers….
The fact that the document is unsigned, undated and unsealed, and has plenty photoshopped images detailing forgery has uncovered the sinister agenda of the minds who constituted a panel that was created to work in hand with Justice. Also, so many grammatical and lexical errors are found in the valueless report.
The ball now is in the court of the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice, Mr Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), who is expected to properly scrutinize the panel report and allow Justice to prevail! God bless Lagos State. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
THE PROGRESSIVES CLAN.