The Lagos State Government on Tuesday released the White Paper on #EndSARS Judicial Panel of Inquiry Report, which investigated allegations of police brutality and shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki tollgate.
The panel, which submitted its report to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on November 15, had indicted the Nigerian Army for conspiracy in killing the protesters at Leki tollgate on October 20, 2020.
However, in the white paper released, the state government said that the report listed names of people who died at the Lekki Toll Gate but failed to explain the circumstances of their death.
In a statement, the government said that of the 32 recommendations presented by the panel, 11 were accepted, six were listed for modifications, and one was rejected outrightly.
The statement read in part, “It is quite astonishing that in the list of eleven (11) deaths set on pages 297-298, two (2) of the names appeared twice (Kolade Salam, Folorunsho Olabisi as Nos. 37 and 38). Furthermore, the person listed, at No. 46 Nathaniel Solomon who testified as a witness and petition the Judicial Panel Inquiry in respect of his brother who he allegedly died at Lekki Toll Gate, was also listed, dead person”.
The state government White Paper further posited that “This finding of nine (9) deaths at LTG on October 20 is even – more baffling because apart from listing out their names in that form at pages 297-298, the JPI offered no explanation regarding circumstances of their death. The names simply sprang up at pages 297-298 of the report without any justification.
“It is quite astonishing that in the list of eleven (11) deaths set at pages 297-298, two (2) of the names appeared twice (Kolade Salam, Folorunsho Olabisi as Nos. 37 and 38). Furthermore, the person listed, as No. 46 Nathaniel Solomon, who testified as a witness and petitioned the JPI in respect of his brother, who he alleged died at LTC, himself listed as having died at LTG on October 20 2020, Remarkably, Nathaniel Solomon’s deceased brother (Abata Soloma, was then also listed as No2 on the list of persons who died at LTG.
“The only victim of gunshot injury from LTG was picked up at 7:43, on October 21 2020 after the curfew commenced (see page 99). Furthermore, there was no shred of evidence regarding who shot him,” it added.
