By Lukman Olabiyi
Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has received the final report from members of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS ) related Abuses in the State.
The report was submitted yesterday to the governor at the Government House, Ikeja, Lagos.
The panel submitted two sets of reports; a consolidated report on police brutality cases and the Lekki incident investigation.
On October 19, 2020, as part of recommendations put forward during the #EndSARS protests, the state government inaugurated the judicial panel to investigate petitions on police brutality in the state.
Receiving the reports from the seven-man panel which was chaired by retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, Sanwo-Olu said it was the beginning of the “difficult process of proper reconciliation and restitution”.
He commended the panel for their commitment and steadfastness, and Lagosians for putting closure to the matters of #EndSARS in the state; and assured that the recommendation would be made known to the general public, and also documented for the government’s record.
The governor also constituted a four man committee which includes the State’s Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, Moyosore Onigbanjo, Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Olusegun Dawodu,
Special Adviser to Governor on Works, and Permanent Secretary of the Cabinet office, to work on the reports and come out with a white paper within two weeks, which will be available to the State Executives Meeting.
He also hinted that the reports would be sent to the National Economic Council for consideration.
The panel’s sitting was initially meant to last for six months, but the period of proceedings stretched into one year.
Chairperson of the panel, Doris Okuwobi, said 186 of the 252 petitions submitted were deliberated upon. The panel disclosed that about N409.7 million was awarded to 70 petitioners.
