The Lagos State Government has officially reacted to the comments trailing the viral report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday.
The panel was commissioned by the state government to look into the events of October 2020, including the shootings at the Lekki Toll Gate, and review cases of police brutality.
Since leaked report became public knowledge on Monday shortly after it was presented to the governor, the media space has been awash with different reactions.
TheNewsGuru.com, TNG reports that the leaked report had indicted officers of the Nigerian Army and Police for killing “unarmed helpless and defenseless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag and singing the National Anthem” at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.
However, in a statement by the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso on Wednesday night, the state government said: “There have been arguments in the public space over the report. There is a need for us to restrain ourselves from nullifying the good intentions of the government in setting up this panel, which was well encouraged to do its job, a fact that was acknowledged by the panel.
“In accordance with the Tribunal of Inquiry Law 2015, a committee has been set up to bring up a White Paper on the report to determine the next line of action. At the appropriate time, the government will make known its views on all the issues raised by the panel through the release of a White Paper.”