We were so certain. We were so convinced. We were unperturbed. We shouted it to high heavens several times over. It was loud and clear; and consistently too.
We were clear in our minds. The Lekki toll gate slaughter was real. A stark reality staring us in the face. It was too huge to be manipulated. Not even by government butchers.
With reckless abundance, they did the unthinkable. They turned the tollgate into an abattoir on October 20, 2020. But they were not clever enough. They strived hard to bury it by every means possible. Their stinking, dirty carpet couldn’t conceal it. It could not sweep it under.
They sent their agents of death out. They were to go after the young, harmless and peaceful protesters. The innocent demonstrators were to be mauled down in great number.
The military, police came after one another. The deed was dastardly done. And it was massive. They executed a twin-operation. They massacred and cleaned up at the speed of light.
But they goofed big time. They erroneously thought it was a successful clean up. But it was not. It couldn’t have been. They lied, erred at the same time. In fact, they never cease feigning ignorance.
The dust hardly settled when Babatunde Fashola SAN, Minister, Works and Housing, came on board. He sauntered into our life uninvited. He even offered unsolicited service, perhaps to blaze the trail.
He probably led the pack of the first investigators, even if unknowingly. And he did it with uncanny candour. You would be flabbergasted the eerie manner he did it.
From the onset, he knew what he wanted. He had no doubt on how he would get it. He aimed at it and went straight for it.
The “super” minister made the maximum and judicious use of that golden opportunity. It was rare. It couldn’t have slipped away. No, Fashola would not let it go unexplored, unexploited.
He wouldn’t have missed it, or mixed it or even messed it up. He showcased the SAN in him. It was done with all the strength he could possibly muster.
Dateline: Sunday, October 25, 2020. Exactly five days after the military massacre at the Lekki Tollgate, Lagos. It was the gruesome result of the hitherto peaceful #EndSARS protest.
Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Fashola and their likes headed to the tollgate. To ascertain what actually on that bloody night. Did anybody die? It was a Herculean task.
As soon as they landed at the Lekki tollgate slaughterhouse, Fashola went for the kill. He alone discovered the mystery camera. He did not hesitate to pick it. Delay could be eternally dangerous.
The lawyer in him sensed it was a sensitive material. And it must be treated that way too. So, he picked the camera in style. Mission accomplished. He came, saw and conquered.
He was adequately prepared for the “expected.” With his left hand, he eagerly brought out a handkerchief from his left pocket. He was extremely cautious not to tamper with his costly exhibit.
Promptly again, he handed it over to Sanwo-Olu: “I think this will help with the on going investigations into the shootings at the Lekki Toll Gate.
“It requires forensic analysis and could be used in the investigations to unravel the mystery surrounding the shootings at the Toll Gate, I believe.”
With that, he set the ball rolling. How much relevance was Fashola’s camera discovery to the Justice Doris Okuwobi report? We are yet to know. It was submitted to Sanwo-Olu on Monday?
All the same the report is in the public sphere already. It is reverberating through the land. It is evoking rage, anger, emotions and sentiments.
It is more of an exposé. It brought the worst out of our liars, particularly those in government. The report was the exact opposite of government’s position.
It negates its stand on the Lekki toll gate massacre. Almost all government officials pretended the Lekki incident was a mere time-out. It was more or less a Christmas fireworks of “knockouts.” How could anybody have died in such a friendly atmosphere?
The chief government spokesman glaringly leads the funny pack. Alhaji Lai Mohammed is it! He holds sway as Minister, Information and Culture. And he is “serving” us with all his heart.
At every given opportunity, he kept hammering us that the Lekki murder was fake news. He insisted there was no killing. He stuck to his deadly gun. He described it as a “massacre without bodies.”
Those of us who hold contrary view are classified: “Purveyor of fake news.” We are glad to be so labeled. It is our pride and we are proud to flaunt it.
But that was the minister’s crude belief. The Okuwobi report rubbished that. It changed the narratives. And we are far better for it. Lai wanted to mess up. But he ended being thoroughly messed up.
The panel’s findings are devastating. The report took all the liars and their likes to the cleaners. May the evil these agents of government committed live with them. Let it forever haunt, hunt, hurt and taunt them. It will never cease to sting them like a bee.
They have stirred the hornet’s nest. They have murdered rest. They opted for nightmares. Everyone involved in its conceptualisation, planning, execution and cleaning-up will know peace no more.
It’s not a curse. It is our fervent prayer. May the law of karma take its full natural course. Thank heavens, it is fast manifesting in our lifetime.
The sycophants even encouraged President Muhammadu Buhari to breathe on us. He made a strange public admission. He believed the #EndSARS protest was a “bloody” coup against his regime.
That was the extent of lies he was being fed daily about us. Arrant nonsense. It was the height of the ridiculous.
We were visibly taking aback. That presidential pronouncement shocked us to the marrows. He made it with pent-up anger in him. We could see it we could feel it.
If he had his way easily, he would have tried the #EndSARS protesters. They would have faced treasonable felony charges. It would be ridiculous.
We would have laughed our hearts out. That would have been a hit far below the belt. It would be highly laughable.
His pronouncement was an equivalent of hate speech. We were persuaded the liars behind the throne were behind the outpouring.
Strangely enough, Lai has not reacted. Let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Let us pretend he has not seen or heard of the report.
Let’s patiently wait on him. Time is ticking out…
What Okuwobi discovered
The Justice Doris Okuwobi panel made profound discoveries including but not limited to:
“The Nigerian Army was invited for intervention and was deployed to Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020. At the Lekki Toll Gate, officers of the Nigerian Army shot, injured and killed unarmed helpless and defenceless protesters, without provocation or justification, while they were waving the Nigerian Flag and singing the National Anthem and the manner of assault and killing could in context be described as a massacre.
“The Panel also found that the conduct of the Nigerian Army was exacerbated by its refusal to allow ambulances render medical assistance to victims who required such assistance. The army was also found not to have adhered to its rules of engagement.
“The Nigerian Police Force deployed its officers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of October 20, 2020 and between that night and the morning of October 21, 2020, its officer shot at, assaulted and battered unarmed protesters, which led to injuries and deaths. The police officers also tried to cover up their actions by picking up bullets.
“There was an invitation of the Nigerian Army by the Lagos State Government through the governor before the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army deployed its soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate.
“There was an attempt to cover up the incident of October 20 by the cleaning of the Lekki Toll Gate and the failure to preserve the scene ahead of potential investigations.”
Sanwo-Olu, the ball is in your court.