Headline

#EndSARS Panel Report: Adegboruwa, Lagos Counsel Disagree

Published

4 years ago

November 19, 2021

Editor

The much talked about report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and other matters seem to have parted some members of the panel (member in support of victims) and counsel to Lagos State Government who was part of the panel.

While counsel to Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko, stated that the report contains at least 40 discrepancies, one of the members of the panel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), argued that there are documents to defend the report submitted by the panel to the state government.

Recall that the report was submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday after a year of sitting by the panel members.

In the report, it is stated that 11 people were killed at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos by security operatives on October 20, 2020.

However, days after it was submitted, counsel for the Lagos State Government questioned the integrity of the panel members.

“The mistake made by the government was not setting up an entirely different panel to look into the Lekki incident because there are some members of the panel that are protagonists in the case against the Police. They were not supposed to be a part of it,” Owonikoko told Arise TV.

But Adegboruwa, in a statement he personally signed and titled, ‘EndSARS Panel: I Acted On The Mandate Of The Governor,’ said it is uncharitable for the government to be talking about discrepancies.

He urged the state government to focus on the recommendations in the report instead of seeking to demonise panel members or to evade responsibility.

The statement reads, “I have listened to the narratives of the Lagos State Government through one of its Learned Senior Counsel at the #EndSARS Panel, to the effect that Nigerians should reject the report of the Panel because I signed it, since I was not present at some of the sittings of the Panel.

“I served on the Panel on the mandate of the Governor of Lagos State, who told me on telephone that I was chosen to represent CIVIL SOCIETY. I requested for and approval was granted in writing, that my appointment was on a part-time basis. Furthermore, the Governor told me that two members were chosen to represent civil society on the Panel so that one of us would always be present at the Panel to excuse the absence of the other.

“I accepted the appointment in good faith, to serve the people, to calm frayed nerves at the time and also to restore normalcy to Lagos State. So, at all times, I functioned in partnership with my colleague from civil society, and there was no major sitting of the Panel in which both of us were absent.

“I also served on the Panel free of charge, from October 19, 2020, when the Panel was inaugurated till November 15, 2021, when the Panel submitted its report. The government was well aware of my identity, my perspectives, my philosophies and my general convictions, at least since my university days, before it nominated me into the Panel, that I will always say things the way they are. All Panel members acted in good faith, independently and in the fear of God Almighty.

“My principled struggles in respect of toll fee collection started way back from 2011, almost nine years before the Panel was inaugurated. Indeed, the Governor said that these were the factors that favoured my selection as a member of the Panel. Will I then deny myself, forfeit my reputation and discredit my constituency, my colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association and comrades in civil society, in order to please anybody or cover up the truth? NEVER!

“It is therefore improper for Lagos State Government, through its lawyer that appeared before the Panel and other sponsored agents, to subject the report of the Panel and indeed the integrity of Panel members to media trials and attacks, all in the bid to build up the contents of its White Paper, which we can now reasonably foretell, from these sponsored media attacks.

“It is indeed uncharitable for the same government that urged the Panel not to be held down by strict rules of technicalities of law in order to unravel the real truth about the Lekki Toll Gate Incident, to now through its counsel, talk about alleged legal discrepancies, to frustrate the good work of the Panel that it set up.

“There are documents to back up and defend the report submitted to the Governor by the Panel but I have chosen to defer to His Excellency and to await the White Paper as promised because I believe that the Governor meant well in setting up the Panel and giving us free hand to operate. I appeal to His Excellency to continue in that note of sincerity.

“There is no minority report from the Panel as the report submitted to the Governor on November 15, 2021 was unanimously endorsed by all members of the Panel, who worked tirelessly, day and night, to serve the government and the people, even at great risks to their health, personal safety, career and family obligations and their general well-being.

“I’m very sure that Panel members would have been lionized to the highest heavens if we had bought into the narrative of the government before the Panel that it was criminals, cultists, hoodlums and unknown gunmen that operated at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.

“I urge the government to focus on the findings and far-reaching recommendations contained in the report, in order to pursue the laudable objectives of setting up the Panel to achieve true healing and reconciliation, instead of seeking to demonise Panel members and their report or to evade responsibility. God bless Nigeria.”

Related Topics:Ebu-Oluwa Adegboruwa EndSARS Panel report

Up Next

Lekki Massacre: Lawyer Faults Panel For Making Findings Public

Don't Miss

Oil Extraction Gelegelegbene Residents Lament Pollution, Heat Waves

Comments

Headline

Badenoch Slams UK’s Palestine Recognition Decision As ‘Absolutely Disastrous’

Published

28 minutes ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

Conservative Party leader Kemi Badenoch condemned the Prime Minister Keir Starmer-led United Kingdom’s decision to formally recognise the State of Palestine.

PUNCH Online reports that Britain, alongside Australia and Canada, on Sunday recognised a Palestinian state in a seismic shift in decades of Western foreign policy.

Britain and Canada became the first G7 countries to take the step, with France and other nations expected to follow at the annual UN General Assembly, which opens Monday in New York.

However, the decision triggered swift Israeli anger and condemnation from the opposition.

Reacting in a statement on her X on Sunday, Badenoch described the move as “absolutely disastrous.”

She argued the move rewards terrorism with no conditions, and the decision would be widely regretted.

She said, “Absolutely disastrous. We will all rue the day this decision was made. Rewarding terrorism with no conditions whatsoever put in place for Hamas.

“It leaves hostages languishing in Gaza and does nothing to stop the suffering of innocent people caught in this war.”

The Winchester opposition leader accused Labour of pandering to its “hard left” rather than fixing Britain’s pressing domestic problems.

“It is because Labour cannot fix the big problems in our society that they focus on discredited student union campaigns to appease the hard left.”

Listing examples of Labour’s failings, she said, “They cannot fix the NHS, so they push assisted suicide. – They cannot create jobs for young people, so they give them votes at 16.

“They cannot sort out immigration, but they will recognise Palestine instead. And so on. This is the same man who paid £35bn of reparations to Mauritius along with the surrender of the Chagos islands.”

Badenoch also criticised what she described as the prime minister’s lack of judgment.

“Everything we are seeing is a consequence of a Prime Minister who has no plan for the country and no judgment.

“He will spend the next four years delivering the hobbyhorses of the Labour left to stay in power and leave a HUGE mess for us to clean up.”

Earlier, Starmer announced the recognition of Palestine in a post on X, saying the move was intended to provide a two-state solution.

He said, “Today, to revive the hope of peace for the Palestinians and Israelis, and a two-state solution, the United Kingdom formally recognises the State of Palestine.”

Headline

Trump To Lead Tributes At Kirk’s Memorial

Published

41 minutes ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

US President Donald Trump will lead tributes to Charlie Kirk on Sunday at a huge stadium gathering to honour the young right-wing influencer slain in America’s latest spasm of political violence.

As he left the White House to fly out west, Trump said the memorial service was aimed “to celebrate the life of a great man. Really a great man.”

He added, “It will be a very interesting day. A very tough day.”

Thousands of people lined up in the pre-dawn dark, hoping to get into the 63,000-seat American football stadium hosting the service and honour the young Republican star who was a close ally of the president and is credited with helping him get reelected.

Many wore the red, white and blue of the US flag or caps with Trump’s iconic “Make America Great Again” slogan.

“I look at him as a Christ martyr, definitely,” Monica Mireles, a 44-year-old Texan who drove 12 hours to get here, said of Kirk.

Kirk, 31, was shot in the neck on September 10 while speaking at a Utah university as part of his popular public debate series.

Authorities arrested a suspect after a 33-hour manhunt, and prosecutors said they will seek the death penalty.

The killing of the founder of Turning Point USA, a right-wing youth action campaign, has inflamed acrimonious and violent political divisions in the United States.

Authorities say the suspected 22-year-old gunman cited the “hatred” he believed was stoked by Kirk — who was a vitriolic critic of transgender people, Muslims and others.

Kirk used his millions of social media followers, the massive audience of his podcast and appearances at universities to bolster Trump with young voters and fight for a nationalist, Christian-centric political ideology.

Even before the alleged killer was identified or arrested, Trump called Kirk “a martyr for truth and freedom” and blamed the rhetoric of the “radical left.”

The US president has lauded Kirk’s role in helping him get re-elected in November last year.

Trump, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth will all speak at the memorial.

Also speaking will be Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard, Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., conservative commentator Tucker Carlson and other prominent Trump administration officials.

Kirk’s widow, Erika Kirk, who is taking over the reins of Turning Point USA, will also address the audience at the State Farm Stadium in Glendale.

In response to the killing, the White House last week declared it would crack down on what it terms “domestic terrorism” by the political left.

Trump said he would designate “Antifa” — a shorthand term for “anti-fascist” used to describe diffuse far-left groups — as “a major terrorist organisation,” a move he threatened in his first term.

Prominent late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel was yanked off the air on Wednesday, hours after the government threatened to cancel broadcasting licenses because of comments he made about Kirk’s killing.

The moves have sparked alarm among Trump’s critics, who warn of possible steps to silence dissent of his divisive right-wing White House tenure, marked by a rolling back of social justice policies and an immigration crackdown that has seen widespread complaints of rights abuses.

AFP

Headline

Trump Slams Harvard With New Restrictions On Funds

Published

7 hours ago

September 21, 2025

Editor

The Donald Trump administration on Friday imposed new restrictions on Harvard’s access to federal funds, escalating its ongoing confrontation with the prestigious U.S. university.

In a statement, the Department of Education said Harvard has been placed under “heightened cash monitoring (HCM) status” due to “growing concerns regarding the university’s financial position.”

The department pointed to the administration’s accusations of civil rights violations at the school, alongside Harvard’s recent decision to issue bonds and lay off employees, as factors creating uncertainty over its finances.

Under the new measures, Harvard must now use its own money to cover student financial aid packages promised by federal officials, before later seeking reimbursement from the government.

“Students will continue to have access to federal funding, but Harvard will be required to cover the initial disbursements as a guardrail to ensure Harvard is spending taxpayer funds responsibly,” the department wrote.

Federal officials also directed Harvard to “post an irrevocable letter of credit for $36 million” to “cover potential liabilities and ensure that Harvard meets its financial obligations to both students and the Department.”

The restrictions mark the latest step in the Trump administration’s wider campaign against U.S. universities. Officials have accused Harvard and other schools of advancing “woke” ideology and of failing to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian demonstrations.

Harvard has rejected those claims, arguing that the federal government is attempting to exert control over hiring, admissions, and curriculum decisions.

Earlier this month, a Boston judge ordered the administration to unfreeze about $2.6 billion in federal funds, ruling that Trump’s Department of Education “used antisemitism as a smokescreen for a targeted, ideologically motivated assault on this country’s premier universities.”

Harvard officials did not respond to the latest move but announced Friday that the university had started recovering part of its frozen funds.

“We are pleased to see the disbursement of $46 million in research funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. This is an initial step, and we hope to continue to see funding restored across all of the federal agencies.”

(AFP)