#EndSARS panel report: SING Nigeria demands prosecution of Sanwo-Olu, key actors

Sustainable Initiatives for Nurturing Growth (SING), a non-governmental organisation (NGO), has demanded the prosecution of Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos state, and others who facilitated shooting of #EndSARS protesters in October last year.

The group’s response had come following report of the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the Lekki shootings, which was released on Monday.

The panel had in its report said soldiers and police operatives indeed opened fire on the protesters, leaving some dead and several others injured in the process.

It also indicted Sanwo-Olu of collaborating with the security operatives on the night of the incident.

In a statement by Agi Victor, its spokesman, SING Nigeria called for the prosecution of the commanding Officer of the 65 Battalion, Lieutenant Colonel, S.O Bello.

The group also asked Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, to apologise to Nigerians for claiming that there were no killings at the Lekki incidence.

The statement read in part: “Beyond the paper indictment of authorities involved in the October 20, 2020, Lekki incidence, the government, in the interest of justice and fairness, should publicly prosecute all those that were part of the ill-fated incidence at the toll gate, also implementing all the recommendations by the Judicial Panel. We also demand that the identities of the person(s) who gave the order for the military attack and killing of peaceful protesters be made public and that the perpetrators be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.

“May we use this opportunity to also remind the government and authorities that public offices are positions of trust, and that public confidence is built on honest communication between the government and citizenry.

“The earlier claims by the federal government through the Ministry of Information and Culture that there were no shootings at Lekki, and that no Nigerian youth was killed during the unfortunate incidence, against available records by eyewitness and international observers, has been thrown out by this report.

“Continuing in this path would further erode trust and public confidence; it is hoped that the government would issue a public apology to Nigerian youths and victims of the Lekki shootings in order to pacify the wounds caused by government insistence to the contrary”, Victor said.

While describing the report as “legal stamps on the already circulated evidences that authorities went overboard to interrupt citizens’ democratic and constitutional processes crudely”, the organisation noted that the submissions by the panel is a clear vindication of the position of unarmed Nigerian youths that they were indeed shot at by officers of the Nigerian Army.

The group added that authorities must have it at the back of their minds that Nigeria is a democratic society guided by the provisions of the constitution, and referred the government to section 40 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), and Article 21 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) “which both guarantee right to freely assemble and associate with other persons, with no restrictions.”

It continued: “To this extent, we reiterate our position and strongly condemn the gestapo actions of the Nigerian Army which the Judicial Panel confirmed were mobilised to the scene of the incident by the Lagos State Government.”

The organisation said that it will continue to advocate and support government and stakeholders’ efforts towards ensuring a peaceful society, “where democratic tenets are respected and upheld by both the leaders and the led.”