Lagos CP asks #EndSARS protester ‘stabbed by hoodlums’ to lodge formal complaint

Hakeem Odumosu, Lagos commissioner of police, has asked Kamsichukwu Ibeh, an #EndSARS protester who testified before the state judicial panel, to lodge a formal complaint on the alleged attack on her.

Ibeh was said to have been attacked on Sunday evening in the Sangotedo area of Lagos while she was heading home from work.

She had testified before the Lagos panel on November 21, 2020 regarding the Lekki tollgate shooting.

In a video seen by TheCable, Ibeh, who had machete cuts on her hands and parts of her body, was seen crying as she narrated her experience and alleged that one of the attackers mentioned her involvement in the #EndSARS panel.

On Monday, Dabira Olayinka, another protester who testified before the judicial panel, alleged that she received a death threat sent via a picture placed in an envelope and dropped in her car.

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, a senior advocate of Nigeria and a member of the panel, had also alleged a threat to his life.

Reacting in a statement issued on Tuesday by Adekunle Ajisebutu, Lagos command spokesman, Odumosu said anyone who has been physically attacked for whatever reason in the state should lodge a formal complaint at the nearest police station.

“Attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to an allegation going on in the media that a witness who testified at the just-concluded Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS-Related Abuses and other Matters was attacked recently by yet-to-be-identified persons,” the statement reads.

“It is the statutory duty of the Lagos State Police Command to protect lives and property, apprehend and prosecute offenders, among other duties. The police will not abdicate these important duties even in the face of daunting challenges.

“Therefore, the Commissioner of Police, CP Hakeem Odumosu, wishes to encourage anyone who has been physically attacked for whatever reason in any part of the state to lodge a formal complaint at the nearest police station where the incident allegedly took place.

“This is to enable the police to take appropriate action by diligently investigating and prosecuting the case.”

Last Monday, the judicial panel submitted two documents — a consolidated report on cases of police brutality and another on the Lekki shooting incident — to Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of the state.

According to the document, which was leaked in the media hours after it was submitted, the panel said the “killing of unarmed protesters by soldiers on October 20, 2020 could be described in the context of a massacre”.

Varied reactions have trailed the report.