The Lagos State judicial panel on police brutality has submitted its report to the state government.
The report was submitted to the governor of the state, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the government house in Ikeja, Lagos on Monday.
The panel submitted two sets of reports – a consolidated report on police brutality cases and the investigation of the Lekki massacre.
It was reported that on October 19, 2020, the Lagos state government inaugurated the judicial panel to investigate petitions on police brutality in the state as part of submissions put forth during the #EndSARs protests.
According to Sanwo-Olu after receiving the report, he said it is the beginning of the “difficult process of proper reconciliation and restitution”.
While speaking, the governor commended members of the panel for the work well done stating that posterity will be kind to them.
He added that the report will be submitted to the National Economic Council (NEC), for proper response to being given to the recommendation.
He also constituted a four-member committee headed by Moyosore Onigbanjo, the state’s attorney-general, to come up with a white paper on the panel’s recommendations within the next two weeks.
“I’m believing and trusting that this process will help us start the very difficult process of proper reconciliation, restitution, bringing together of anyone that must have been one form or the other being affected,” he said.
“By either the police or any of our citizens that must have been wronged by one form or the other, the process of healing, I imagine, with the submission of this panel report, will start that process.”
It was gathered that the sitting was originally meant to last for six months but the period of proceedings extended into one year.
The panel concluded its sitting on October 18, 2021, and said its findings and recommendations would be submitted to the state government.
According to Doris Okuwobi, the chairperson of the panel said 186 of the 252 petitions submitted were examined.
Also, in an infographic released by the panel, the sum of N409.7 million was awarded to 70 petitioners.
Though, the conclusion of the panel not to reveal its report on the incident of the Lekki shooting did not go down well with lawyers representing #EndSARS protesters including many Nigerians.
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