Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, (SAN), says all those who tried to cover up the shootings at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020, must be sanctioned for complicity.
Specifically, Falana said the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed; the Attorney-General of Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, (SAN), as well as the managers of the toll gate, the Lekki Concession Company, should be sanctioned for trying to cover up the ‘crimes against humanity committed at the toll gate’ during the #EndSARS protests last year.
Recall that on Monday, after about a year, the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel submitted its report to the Lagos State government, noting that at least 9 persons were confirmed dead at the Lekki toll plaza when soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse #EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.
The United States, the United Nations, the United Kingdom and Amnesty International have since called on the Nigerian authorities to ensure that the panel’s report is handled transparently.
The panel’s report negates the consistent claim by the Federal Government of Nigeria that there was no “massacre” at the toll gate, a focal gathering point during last year’s nationwide demonstration against extrajudicial killings and police brutality by operatives of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police.
Speaking yesterday, Falana said those who released the Lekki panel report feared cover-up by the government, hence, they released the report to the public to know their findings.
Falana, who spoke during a television programme, said the report is one of the best so far in the country, added that there is no room for a cover-up.
The human rights lawyer noted that Mohammed, Malami, the LCC and all those who tried to cover up the killings at Lekki must be sanctioned.
