Since the report of the Lagos EndSARS panel, which investigated the Lekki Tollgate killings and others was leaked to the public before its submission to Lagos State government, the gulf between those in government, the powers that be and the people, the marginalized citizens, has deepened. The uneasiness in government circles, Abuja in particular, over the unexpected outcome of the Lagos judicial panel of investigation, headed by retired Judge of the Lagos High Court, Justice Doris Okuwobi, is quite understandable.
The hailing of the verdict of the panel on EndSARS protests in Lagos is also understandable too. Members of the public hailed the report probably because it is in line with their expectations or very close to them. For the first time in many, many years, they noticed a marked departure from the ugly past when the report of such investigations was shrouded in secrecy until the almighty government’s White Paper is released. Why should there be an endless wait for a White Paper before the report of a panel would be made public?
In this part of the world, the White Paper will always be distorted and vaguely capture the wishes or expectations of the masses. But the Lagos panel appears to be significantly different. The panelists told truth to power and their effrontery must have terribly rattled the powers that be. Those in Abuja are uncomfortable with the outcome of the report, which indicted its security agents in the Lekki massacre. Based on what Abuja and its agents are saying about the panel’s report recently, those who leaked the report actually acted on the side of the people. Their reason for leaking the report is right and just. They cannot be faulted. They have saved the situation by being on the side of the people.
Forget the so-called inaccuracies and distortions allegedly contained in the report or the embellishments. No matter what the federal government is saying, Nigerians are inclined to believe the leaked version of the report hence they have praised the panel members for a commendable and patriotic work. Whether officials from Abuja recognized the patriotic work you have done or not, the masses are solidly behind you all.
What might have riled the federal government is the fact that the panel report established that over nine people were killed at the Lekki Tollgate when protesters were there singing the national anthem and waving the Nigerian flag, the symbol of our sovereignty. Four more people were also presumed dead, while the incident recorded 48 casualties. There were other gory details that will not be repeated here.
The panel did not invent the facts. The facts are there for all to see. The facts are verifiable. Truth, they say, is immutable. No amount of cover-up or blackmail will extinguish the truth. There is a big difference between fact and fiction. There is also a difference between light and darkness. While truth will always remain truth, falsehood will always remain falsehood no matter how many times it is dished out.
Before then, the rumour was rife that soldiers cannot shoot at defenceless Nigerian youths waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem. But when the reality dawned on them, it was a different story altogether, the story of tears, sorrow and blood and unbelievably harvest of deaths. This reality has punctured government’s earlier stand that no life was lost at the Lekki Tollgate…
