EndSARS: Lagos Judicial Panel Report Will Be Made Public - Sanwo-Olu

 

The Governor of Lagos state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu has made it clear that his government will make public the the final report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution.

 

Sanwo-Olu said the State Government would not make an attempt to cover up the recommendations of the panel, whether it is in its favour or not. The Governor said the panel report would be helpful in strengthening true reconciliation and preventing re-occurrence of violence in the State.

 

Sanwo-Olu, on Thursday, spoke on the arduous task of rebuilding the State, one year after Lagos was hit by a wave of arsonist attacks resulting from EndSARS protests.

 

Lagos recorded a huge loss in assets and resources, following the violence that trailed the protest, as public transportation infrastructure, court buildings, police stations, private properties and iconic assets were razed by arsonists on October 21, 2020.

 

Gov. Sanwo-Olu said the panel was set up to look into allegations of human rights abuses against the police and also determine the cause of coordinated attacks on Lagos, noting that the panel’s final report would be fully implemented.

 

The panel concluded its sittings last Monday, after 12 months it was constituted.

 

Sanwo-Olu said: “The panel concluded its sittings about three days ago and has asked for time to put the reports together behind closed doors. We do not know the content of the report, but we want to say publicly that, upon the handover of the report, we will be making it public. We will not cover up anything. This is not who we are and that is not what our Government stands for. We will make full disclosure of whatever recommendations that the panel will come up with. I assure citizens of Lagos that we will not leave anything to chance.”

“Yesterday (Wednesday), we saw a protest in Lagos and everybody that was arrested in connection with the protest have all been released, except an individual that was caught with dangerous weapons and who confessed to the police that he joined the protest to cause mayhem,” the Governor said.

 

He commended the police for being alive with its responsibility to identify and isolate troublemakers from among law-abiding people who conduct themselves in line with the laws.

 

Sanwo-Olu, again, extended a hand of fellowship to the youth to be stakeholders in the development of the State, while reiterating his commitment to reconciliation. He urged them to join the rebuilding effort in order to restore the operating capacity of institutions affected in the violence.

 

Speaking on the rebuilding effort, the Governor said the destruction had slowed down operational activities of the affected public institutions, but stressed that the State Government would not shy away from its responsibility to rebuild the facilities and restore their operating capacity.

 

He said: “It is exactly a year ago today when Lagos was hit by violence in the aftermath of the EndSARS protests. Lagos witnessed massive destruction of infrastructure, iconic buildings, transport infrastructure, police station and others.