Lagos sets up committee to review #EndSARS report — and come up with white paper

Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has constituted a four-member committee to come up with a white paper on the recommendations in the report of the state judicial panel on police brutality.

On Monday, the panel submitted two sets of reports — a consolidated report on police brutality and an investigation of the Lekki shooting incident.

Speaking after receiving the report, Sanwo-Olu assured residents of the state that the report of the panel will be treated in accordance with the powers conferred on him as the governor.

He said the report of the panel will be submitted to the National Economic Council (NEC), adding that “proper response” will be accorded to the report by NEC.

Sanwo-Olu appointed Moyosore Onigbanjo, the state attorney-general, as head of the committee, and mandated the committee to come up with a white paper on the panel’s recommendations in two weeks.

Others members of the committee are Segun Dawodu, commissioner for youths and social, Aramide Adeyoye, special adviser, works and infrastructure, and Tolani Oshodi, permanent secretary, cabinet office.

“Four of them will very quickly look through and bring forward a white paper within the next two weeks that will be considered at the Lagos state executive council and would be gazetted as a white paper coming from the panel of enquiry,” he said.

The decision of the governor to set up a committee to review the panel’s recommendations did not go down well with Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, senior advocate of Nigeria, who is a member of the judicial panel.

Adegboruwa described the governor’s decision as someone being a judge in his own case.

On Monday, a copy of the report seen by TheCable revealed that protesters were killed at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.

The panel also listed 48 names as the casualties from the Lekki tollgate shooting.

But reactions have trailed the naming of Nathaniel Solomon by the panel as one of the people killed by soldiers at the tollgate.

A video published by Punch newspaper on Facebook, in September, showed a man who identified himself as Nathaniel Solomon.

In the video, Nathaniel Solomon, whose name appeared in the panel’s report as deceased, narrated how he was told that his brother, whom he identified as Abouta Solomon was shot by soldiers at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.

One of the reasons a white paper is usually needed is to sieve through a report and recommendations to preclude inconsistencies.