By Olusegun Olanrewaju
There has been a bedlam by way of commentary on the outcome of last Monday’s report by the Justice Doris Okuwobi team that probed the circumstances that led to the October 2020 casualties- human and material- recorded while the peaceful-protest-turned-violent uprising raged over the activities of men of the notorious Nigeria Police Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Lekki, Lagos, and elsewhere.
Leading a pro-protest coalition, Alliance for Survival of COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB), a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Femi Falana, had urged the then President Muhammadu Buhari’s army chief, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai (now retired), not to draft soldiers to halt the uprising. The Falana coalition argued that peaceful protests remained the only way Nigerians, under the constitution, to register their grievances “against a system that suffocates them”. In a statement, the coalition added, “The plan to deploy soldiers is dangerous. It will push Nigeria into the red-light district of global reckoning.”
It added, “Sending soldiers after school children and leaders of tomorrow shows what future we anticipate for the teeming population of young men and women who have taken to the streets to protest against a system that buries their dreams and shatters their potentials and aspirations”. “Nigerian authorities said- that soldiers will be deployed- to bring an end to the weeklong demonstration over police brutality. We urge President Muhammadu Buhari not to use soldiers to quell a peaceful, civil protest. “The protesters have been lawful. The few cases of violence were associated with armed thugs disrupting the protests coupled with the shooting of protesters by security operatives.”
The plea did not take root in certain quarters. Falana was directing his venom at the federal authority, but in Lagos, another idea was apparently in the calculations. Soldiers were later invited, with bloody consequences. The army later said it had been invited by the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to quell an otherwise peaceful protest. The military responded by instantly sending its alpha squad to rout the uprising. The reports have not been denied.
‘Twist in the tale’
Different statistics have trailed the outcome of the outrage that kicked off with the reported killing of a youth in Warri, Delta State, by operatives of the now-disbanded SARS, which sparked global outrage last year.
In Lagos, which was the epicentre of the uprising that saw thousands of youths spilling in the streets, burning, looting, and belching fire, human rights groups, government officials, and activists initially claimed some 96 bodies had been mowed down in cold blood by the drafted, allegedly rampaging soldiers. Later, there were some recounting on the actual number of casualties, until the government circle came out with varying figures, some as low as in the first ten units.
International watchdog, Amnesty International, claimed and stuck to its forty-something figures, but in the end, the global news outlet, US-owned Cable Network News (CNN), had to issue a rebuttal on an earlier report on ‘massacre’. Nothing much was heard later about the claim on the massacre until a panel report was reportedly ‘leaked’ into the press from official quarters last Monday.
On its part, the Federal Government did not help matters by initially denying casualties, observers noted. The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, at a media briefing in Abuja on the protest and its aftermath, had claimed that no lives were lost, citing the non-availability of ‘hard evidence’. These aspects of issues were later to crop up at the various sittings of the year-long probe, which ended up with the controversial report last week.
But amid claims and counterclaims of casualty figures, the Federal Government was later to state that 57 civilians, 37 policemen, and six soldiers, had been killed in the days of street rage that railed on the EndSARS fiasco, especially with many others reportedly killed all over the country.
The controversial Lagos reports
Two versions of the Lagos report are said to be in circulation. This has been confirmed by the youth representative on the Lagos judicial panel on police brutality, Temitope Majekodunmi, who was quoted to have said that “there are errors in the panel’s report currently in circulation”.
But the ‘leaked’ Justice Doris Okuwobi panel report harped on the anniversary of the uprising, darted a lot of observations and recommendations, even though critics cite inconsistencies, given that some principal witnesses, governmental and non-governmental, refused to testify to lay crucial issues to rest. According to the findings of the Okuwobi panel, the massacre was carried out by both the military and the police. The findings contradicted the position of the Federal Government, canvassed by Information Minister, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who claimed there was no massacre at the toll gate.
First, the panel questioned the deployment of soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate, “where there was no violence”. “The deployment of the army to Lekki Toll Gate on 20/10/2020, in the absence of any reported violence, was unwarranted,” the panel said it found out. It confirmed nine people dead and another four missing, “but presumed dead”, making a total of 13 on the death list radar. The panel also listed the names of the dead casualties and others with gunshot wounds, with a disclosure that response to its summons had been hugely positive, as over 80 per cent of those summoned honoured the invitations to give evidence, which assisted in “greatly unravelling the events of the 20th October 2020”.
On a positive note, the panel noted that “The protesters on their own attended the panel’s proceedings and presented evidence of events at the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October, 2020.” On the part of the #EndSARS protesters, the panel said it specifically considered the evidence of persons who alleged that they were victims with injuries or death of their loved ones, as well as the testimonies of those who were present and traumatised.
“Some gave accounts of what happened, even though they had no physical injuries. The evidence considered in this regard usually represented similar versions of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident as corroborated by other protesters, who were treated as petitioners, with petitions arising from the toll gate incident. Virtually all witnesses were cross-examined by counsel to parties with opposing versions of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident. “The panel reached its findings and prepared its reports, despite the evidence of the Nigerian Army, which was limited, as most of the officers who were summoned and who filed affidavits, never appeared before the panel,” the report further stated.
Findings
The terms of the panel rested mainly on whether the army used extra-permitted force, as the use of live bullets, to engage with the protesters; the activities of the police on the night of the ‘massacre’, the role of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) managing the toll gate, and the role of the state government in the imbroglio.
After evidence of all relevant parties, key issues which called for determination and upon which the findings of the panel were based were x-rayed. The panel reported that it made findings, including that the Lagos State Government invited the army to quell the protest on the night of 20th October 2020, even after the Nigeria Police had earlier intervened.
An invitation had allegedly been made to the Nigerian Army hierarchy by the Lagos State Government through the governor, and the army only responded before deploying its soldiers to the toll gate in the night. Officers said to have shot at, battered, and assaulted protesters, which led to injuries and deaths, which police officers allegedly tried to cover up by picking up spent bullets, while some crucial information requested was not given.
It was also found out that the LCC ‘hampered’ the panel’s investigation by refusing to turn over some useful and vital information and evidence as requested by the panel and the forensic expert engaged, “even where such information and evidence was, by the company’s admission, available”. The company was accused of having manipulated the ‘incomplete CCTV video footage of the Lekki toll gate on the night of the 20th of October 2020, which it tendered before the panel.
The panel stated that it found that there was an attempt to cover up the incident of the ‘Lekki massacre’ by the cleaning of the toll gate. It also berated the failure to preserve the scene ahead of potential investigations. In the end, the panel came away with some 32 recommendations, which included, but was not limited to, holistic police and legal reforms covering welfare, training, and proper equipping of policemen and their working environment.
Others include the sanctioning of alleged culprits in the assaults, setting up a standing committee to facilitate military-civilian engagements, tendering of apologies to the affected, as well as payment of compensations, where necessary. At the presentation of the report on Monday, Governor Sanwo-Olu promised some actions, which include setting up a four-man committee led by the state attorney-general, to prepare a ‘white paper’ for onward transmission to the implementation by the authorities.
Sanwo-Olu disclosed that, after sitting for a year and listening to testimonies of petitioners, witnesses, experts, and lawyers, the panel concluded its sitting on October 18, 2021, after treating 186 of the 252 petitions submitted to it. “During the sitting, compensation was paid to deserving cases of police abuses, while a special case was made for victims of the Lekki Toll Gate incident of October 20, 2020. According to an infographic released by the panel, the sum of N409.7 million was awarded to 70 petitioners,” the governor stated. However, shortly after the disclosure, Majekodunmi, the youth representative on the panel, alluded to errors in the panel’s report.
Controversy
On Monday, the panel submitted two documents— a consolidated report on cases of police brutality and another on the Lekki incident investigation– to the state governor. Hours after submission, the 309-page document appeared in the media space. In the report, the panel said the “killing of unarmed protesters by soldiers on October 20, 2020, could be described in the context of a ‘massacre’”.
The report has elicited varied reactions, with some persons citing errors in the document currently in circulation. For instance, on pages 297 and 298, which had the list of casualties, Majekodunmi cited that numbers 37 and 38 were repeated, “Making it appear that 11 deaths were recorded, instead of nine”. The youth representative, in a statement last Wednesday, said the errors were corrected before final submission, adding, however, that the leaked report in circulation “is not far from the original”. “A leaked report of the panel has been in circulation since yesterday, and I got numerous calls and messages from various persons asking me to confirm if the report was authentic,” he said.
“While others were particular about the error of name duplications, it is imperative to note that the leaked report in circulation is not far from the original, but I can confirm that the original is without all the identified errors. “Furthermore, we did approve the report for print after several reviews of a typographical error, omission of some documents, but duplicated as final edit; final, final edits and final of the finals of edit.”
He added, “Regardless of errors identified, it is important that we stick to the facts of the findings and its recommendations contained therein and also interpret appropriately. “This report is all-encompassing for the reasoning of peace and justice. I am sure every one of you must have gone through the details.
“To provide a summary, you can find an executive summary of the report on pages 11-15, background on page 16, general proceedings on pages 17-280, panel findings on pages 281-304, a compendium of recommendations on pages 305-300 and the conclusion to page 305.
“The report of the panel further validates our position that peaceful protesters were injured and/or killed by security operatives who were meant to protect us. The findings of the panel, and most importantly, the recommendations are now in the public domain.
“In conclusion, it is not the time to rest nor sleep; it is the time to peacefully demand accountability and ensure that the recommendations of the panel are implemented. “It is the time to ensure that our fallen heroes do not die in vain and that citizens of Nigeria are never afraid to peacefully protest in their native country.”
What happened on #EndSARS day
A day-by-day timeline of a protest that one commentator said “almost brought Nigeria to its knees” has been documented. Nigerian youths embarked on a peaceful protest tagged #EndSARS to demand the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) unit, as well as other reforms in the Nigerian Police Force (NPF).
It started as a peaceful demonstration by thousands of youths, degenerated into chaos after the protests were hijacked by hoodlums. The hijacked protest was later characterised by the heavy presence of security personnel on the streets of Lagos, mob attacks on security personnel, killings, and vandalisation of public and private properties
The birth of #EndSARS
The #EndSARS movement dated back to 2017 when Nigerian youths used the hashtag to share their experiences on violence and assault reportedly perpetrated by the SARS operatives
The movement revived again in early October 2020, after a video emerged of police officers thought to be members of the SARS unit, allegedly killed an unarmed young man. “This prompted Nigerian youths to troop to Twitter, calling on the Federal Government for police reform with the hashtag, #EndSARS, #Endpolicebrutality, and many more. “The hashtag trended continuously on Twitter as Nigerian youths aired their pain and experiences online,” a report stated.
It added: “As the video spread, several other young Nigerians, particularly those from the tech community recalled their experience and started lamenting on Twitter, escalating into a fury of outburst that eventually morphed into one of the largest youth organised protests in the history of Nigeria.” In the heat of the protest, Nigeria’s Minister for State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, took to social media the young man whose death was reported and shared that triggered the uprising, was alive after all. Keyamo even allegedly tweeted a picture of the boy in a hospital, with head wounds.
The then Inspector-General of Police, Mohammed Adamu, following a petition filed by House of Representatives member, Akin Alabi (Ona-Ara/Egbeda Federal Constituency, Oyo State), to dissolve the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), announced a ban of SARS members and other tactical squads from carrying out routine patrols and other conventional low-risk duties, stop and search duties, checkpoints, mounting of roadblocks, traffic checks, among others, with immediate effect.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo announced that President Muhammadu Buhari wanted to reform the Nigerian Police Force. “We reviewed several of these issues. The President and I have had discussions on this, he is very concerned about it. He wants to see reforms.” Also, youths in Lagos State added voice to the call for the disbandment of SARS, as part of the push for reforms in the police system, and to end extra-judicial activities of the squad. Youths were seen marching to the Force Headquarters at Ikeja, carrying placards with various inscriptions such as “Protect, not exploit”, “Nigeria police stop killing us,” amongst other printed messages. That was the trigger for a 14-day protest that eventually turned violent, after being hijacked by hoodlums.
Aftermath
Observers have picked holes in the report. Questions are being raised on the plight of the security officials and operatives who were killed in the uprising by mobs, hoodlums, and urchins.
Also, posers are being raised as to why a protest on brutality could end up a ‘political note’, with banners of ‘End Buhari’ and ‘Gari don cost’. Meanwhile, other political forces had strolled in with NADECO announcing that it was making a return.
It is also not yet seen what the role of other states would be in the consideration of reports based on the positions of the United States and Federal Government on the accommodation of punitive sanctions on errant groups. Already, the Anambra state government mobs and hoodlums and urchins, as well as to where the later groups got their arms and ammo. Also, posers were raised as to why a protest against brutality could veer off its later veer off its initial trajectory of peace to warrant the interest of political forces like NADECO, whose Afenifere leader, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, a nonagenarian, said was rejuvenating to take active pa
And, it is being raised, what the role of other states would be in the issue considering the positions of the US government and the Federal government on the administration of sanctions to all errant groups?
Already, the Anambra State government, like other states in the federation, have said they were yet to complete an investigation into their EndSARS cases.
Its judicial panel on police brutality and other related matters said it had investigated 310 petitions received from residents of the state.
A member representing the Coalition of Anambra Civil Society Organisations in the panel, Vincent Ezekwueme, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu that the number of cases investigated in the state “remained the highest in any given state of the federation”.
Ezekwueme, who is also the chairman of the Civil Liberties Organisation (CLO) in Anambra State, added that the panel was gradually winding down its activities currently at its ‘re-verification and conclusion’ stage.
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At the inauguration of the Okuwobi panel of inquiry, the Lagos State government had stated that only the dead would be ‘compensated in the N200 million budgeted for the redress of cases.
Meanwhile, a member of the panel, Ebunoluwa Adegboruwa, has opened up a new front on the issues trailing the report, warning against ‘rubbishing’ the work of the panel over the release of a white paper.
