December 1, 2021

Lagos State Government has released the White Paper on the #EndSARS Panel of Inquiry report, accepting 11 out of the 32 recommendations made by the panel.

The government accepted six other recommendation but with modifications while one was rejected.

The White Paper also  said that 14 of the recommendations fall outside the powers of the state and will  be forwarded to the Federal Government for consideration.

President Muhammadu Buhari had earlier assured Nigerians that his government will only consider aspects of the recommendation that relates to it.

The  report had indicted the Nigerian Army and the Lagos State Government in the killing of unarmed protesters and a subsequent cover-up of the incident at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.

But after the panel submitted its findings to Governor Sanwo-Olu, he set up a four-member committee led by the Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN), giving them two weeks to raise the White Paper on the reports submitted by the panel.

The Governor called the leakage of the report online “regrettable”.

“While I commend the panel for undertaking its task to the best of its abilities, it is however regrettable that the panel’s work and the leakage of an unauthorized version of the report have generated much tension. Sadly, a deep wound has been reopened,” he added.

Sanwo-Olu sought the path of peace with an assurance to Lagosians that his administration remains committed to justice and truth.

The Governor  initiated a peace walk as part of efforts to ensure harmony and peace in the state.

“To quicken recovery and engender a better understanding, I will lead ‘A Walk for Peace’ in December to herald the healing of the land.

“I have extended an open invitation to the youths, members of the diplomatic corps, civil society groups, students and the media, as well as other stakeholders to join me in this peace walk,” Sanwo-Olu said.

However, some of those he specifically invited for the peace walk have kicked against it, insisting that the matter demands more than a peace walk but remorse from government, compensation to victims, justice and peace.

Mr. Seun Kuti, son of Afro beat legend, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, has rejected the Governor’s invitation for a peace walk as part of efforts to ensure harmony in the state.

He told Channels TV Politics Today on Tuesday, that the first step to ensuring peace in the state is to ensure justice for all victims of police brutality and human rights abuses.

“I don’t need to walk next to the governor before there is peace in Lagos.

“The governor should walk the walk he is talking about by bringing about justice. The governor is not an embodiment of justice, Seun Kuti is not an embodiment of justice, Falz is not an embodiment of justice, Mr Macaroni is not an embodiment of justice,” he said.

His comments come hours after Governor Sanwo-Olu had called him and several other youths to join a

Another entertainer, Debo Adedayo, popularly known as Mr Macaroni, who was on Politics Today also declined the invitation, asking the governor to begin his call for peace by first ensuring justice through the implementation of the recommendations of the #EndSARS panel.