Category: Featured

By Emmanuel Oladesu and Oyebola Owolabi

Lagos State Government yesterday rejected the report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that there was a massacre in Lekki Toll Gate during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.

To the government, the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led Lagos State ‘Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution of Victims of SARS-Related Abuses and Other Related Matters’ failed to establish arbitrary and indiscriminate killing of protesters at the toll gate.

According to the 36-page White Paper released yesterday, the panel’s findings “are clearly and manifestly not supported by the evidence before the JPI as attested to by the JPI itself, when it said there was no contrary evidence to that of Prof. Obafunwa that only one person died at Lekki Toll Gate of gunshot wounds on 21st October 2020”.

Rejecting the recommendation, it said: “The state government is, therefore, unable to accept the finding that nine (9) people died of gunshot wounds at LTG on 20th October 2020.”

The white paper added: “It also follows that the irresistible conclusion to be drawn from the JPI’s acceptance of Prof. Obafunwa’s testimony that only one (1) person died of gunshot wounds at LTG on 21st October 2020 is that there was no massacre at LTG, contextual or otherwise.

“The findings of JPI that nine (9) people died at the LTG on 20th October 2020 from gunshots fired by the military are based on assumptions and speculations.

“The inconsistencies and contradictions in the entire JPI Report concerning the number of persons who died at LTG on 20th October 2020 and their cause of death rendered the JPI’s finding and conclusions there upon totally unreliable and therefore, unacceptable.”

Out of the 32 recommendations made by the JPI in its report of 15th November 2021, the government accepted eleven, rejected one and accepted six with modifications.

Read Also: Speak out if your child was killed at Lekki Toll Gate – FG

Fourteen recommendations fall outside the powers of the Lagos State Government and will be forwarded to the Federal Government for consideration.

A member of the panel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), told The Nation last night that he could not comment on the White Paper because he had not seen it. “We’ll wait for them,” he said.

Besides, he said the chairman of the #EndSARS panel, Justice Okwuwobi (rtd), would provide further guidance to the members on the White Paper when they receive it.

According to the White Paper, some recommendations cannot be accepted because of obvious inconsistencies and distortions.

It said: “The evidence of Pathologist Prof. Obafunwa, that only three of the bodies that post-mortem examination was conducted on, were from Lekki, and only one had gunshot injury, and this was not debunked. We deemed it credible as the contrary was not presented before the panel.

“This finding of nine deaths at LTG on 20 October is even more baffling because apart from listing out their names in that form on pages 297-298, the panel offered no explanation regarding circumstances of their death. The names simply sprang up on pages 297-298 of the report without any justification.

“It is quite astonishing that in the list of 11 deaths set on pages 297-298, two of the names appeared twice (Kolade Salam, Folorunsho Olabisi). Furthermore, the person listed as No. 46 Nathaniel Solomon, who testified as a witness and petitioned the panel in respect of his brother who he alleged died at LTG, himself listed as having died at LTG on October 20, 2020. Remarkably, Nathaniel Solomon’s deceased brother (Abata Solomon was then also listed as No. 2 on the list of persons who died at Lekki Tollgate).

“The only victim of gunshot injury from LTG was picked up at 7:43, on October 21, 2020, after the curfew started (see page 99). Furthermore, there was no shred of evidence regarding who shot him.”

According to the White Paper, the award of compensation to only one of the alleged nine listed as ‘deceased’ showed that the JPI itself had doubts as to the alleged death of eight other deceased persons on its list.

It added: “The JPI also surprisingly awarded the sum of N10 million to one Serah Ibrahim (listed as No. 14 on Page 304 of the report). Serah Ibrahi was neither a petitioner nor a claimant before the JPI. On page 179 of the report, Serah Ibrahim testified on oath that she did not have any petition before the panel; neither did she have any claims for compensation.

“This award to Serah Ibrahim is also contrary to the provisions of Section 13 Tribunal of Inquiry Law 2015 (Cap. T6 Laws of Lagos State) which prescribes that only witnesses summoned by a Tribunal of Inquiry are entitled to witness fees subject to the consent of the Attorney-General. Serah Ibrahim did not testify at the request or summons of the tribunal.

“The government is, therefore, unable to accept the finding that nine people died of gunshot wounds at LTG on October 20, 2020.”

However, the state agreed with the panel’s sixth recommendation that the use of social media played a significant role in escalating the crises and the need for restraint in spreading unverified pieces of information.

It noted that the Lekki Toll Gate incident was exacerbated by indiscriminate dissemination of unverified accounts of the events.

“Lagos State Government will, therefore, launch a campaign to sensitise the public on the use of social media and the inherent dangers in its abuse,” the White Paper stated.

A member of the panel, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), told The Nation last night that he could not comment on the White Paper because he had not seen it. “We’ll wait for them,” he said.

He said the chairman of the would provide further guidance to the members on the White Paper when they receive it.

The panel, which sat for one year, had on November 15 submitted two documents — a consolidated report on cases of police brutality and another on the Lekki shooting investigation — to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The governor consequently set up a four-man committee to examine the documents within two weeks and “bring forward the White Paper” that would be considered by the State Executive Council.

The four-member review panel was chaired by Lagos State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN).

The other members are Youths and Social Development Commissioner, Mr. Segun Dawodu; Special Adviser to the Governor on Works & Infrastructure, Mrs. Aramide Adeyoye and Permanent Secretary in the Cabinet Office, Mrs. Tolani Oshodi.

A few hours later, a version of the 309-page document appeared on social media.

In that version, the panel said the “killing of unarmed protesters by soldiers on October 20, 2020, could be described in the context of a ‘massacre’.”

Mixed reactions trailed the leaked report, with some persons citing errors in it and others querying the panel members’ competence and integrity.

Last week, the Federal Government, through Information and Culture Minister Lai Mohammed, rejected the report. It said the report was an equivalent of fake news and a document riddled with errors, inconsistencies, and discrepancies.

Before then, President Muhammadu Buhari said in a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity Femi Adesina, that it was better to allow the states that were involved to complete the processes initiated by them through their probe panels.

“We at the Federal level have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can’t impose ideas on them. Federal Government has to wait for the reaction of the states”, he added.

The National Economic Council (NEC) had advised states affected by the protests to constitute committees to look into the root causes and make appropriate recommendations.

 

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday ordered the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to take actions against heads of Ministries, Departments, and Agencies MDAs and other personnel  involved in project racketeering,  budget, and payroll  padding  as well as  ”ghost workers retention.”

Buhari said that ICPC investigations had opened the government’s eyes to situations where some MDAs present new projects as ongoing, thereby circumventing his administration’s plan to cut down on the cost of governance.

He spoke at the opening of the 3rd National Summit on Diminishing Corruption in the Public Sector in Abuja. The theme of the summit was: “Corruption and Cost of Governance: New Imperatives for Fiscal Transparency.”   

His words: “Necessary action and sanctions should be taken against the heads of such errant MDAs. I am confident that ICPC will continue to maintain the vigilance required of her by the ICPC Act in this regard.

“We reduced the cost of governance by maintaining our promise to complete abandoned or ongoing projects commenced by previous administrations and have ensured that MDAs do not put forward new capital projects at the expense of ongoing projects.

“Government has, however, noted from the activities of the  ICPC that some MDAs have devised the fraudulent practice of presenting new projects as ongoing projects.

“I am however  delighted that the Legislative and Judicial arms of government are also under focus on managing the cost of government because the government is collective and is not the business of the Executive branch alone.”

The President said he was delighted that some public officers have continued not only to demonstrate the core values of ethics, integrity, and patriotism but have been identified for their sterling anti-corruption disposition in their workplace.

Read Also; ICPC: 257 duplicated projects found in 2021 budget 

The high point of the event attended by  Chief Justice of Nigeria Ibrahim Muhammad was the presentation of the 2021 Public Service Integrity Awards to three  Nigerians.

They are Nelson Okoronkwo, deputy director (Legal) Federal Ministry of Information and Culture;  Muhammad Ahmad, assistant commander of Narcotics, National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) and Ikenna Nweke, a doctoral student in Japan.

Okoronkwo was recognised for his consistent acts of integrity in the different ministries where he served.

As Chairman of the committee on Illegal Recruitment in the Federal Ministry of Information and Culture,  he facilitated the detection and removal of over 3, 000 fake employers from the service thereby saving the government millions of naira in terms of salaries and emoluments.

Okonkwo was also credited to have reported corrupt practices that led to the Ogoni cleanup investigation in the Federal Ministry Environment.

Ahmad was recognised for demonstrating the highest ideals and standards of public service in the discharge of his responsibilities.

A recipient of the Chairman/Chief Executive Award for Outstanding Performance and Integrity, Ahmad recently recovered and declared to his agency $24,500   offered to him as a bribe by a drug baron.

Nweke found a wallet containing a very large amount of money and other valuables and handed it over to the Japanese police.

He declined 10 per cent of the money offered to him as a reward.

The Nigerian, who joined the event virtually from his base in Japan, was recognised for his act of “honesty and integrity.”

Speaking specifically on Nweke, Buhari said:”I am also happy to note the ICPC special award to Ikenna Steve Nweke, a Nigerian Ph.D. student from Imo State studying in Japan.

“He has done Nigeria proud in far-away Japan by displaying traditional Nigerian values of honesty and integrity and returning a wallet containing a very large sum of money and other valuables to the police.

“He also declined 10% of the money found as a reward offered to him.

“He is indeed an icon and a beacon for our youths. I also congratulate all those to be awarded the ICPC Certificate of Integrity through their agencies.”

By Bolaji Ogundele, Nicholas Kalu, Abuja and Emma Elekwa, Onitsha

• Peace will return to Southeast soon, says president
• IPOB: Count us out of killing
• Kanu’s lawyers fault DSS over ‘visitor’

President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday condemned the execution of two policemen allegedly in the Southeast.

The policemen were said to have been killed by persons believed to be separatist elements in the region.

The Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), which described the killings as barbaric, denied that its security arm, the Eastern Security Network (ESN), was responsible.

The President assured Nigerians that peace will soon return to all parts of the country.

In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina, President Buhari commiserated with the families of the victims and others who have lost loved ones “in different theatres of insecurity”.

The statement reads: “President Buhari sympathises with families of policemen reportedly murdered in the Southeast by misguided separatist elements, who videotaped the bestial killings and proceeded to share it widely on social media.

“The President laments the horrific nature of the bloodletting, which indicates that some minds are completely overtaken by hatred and reduced to the basest level imaginable.

“Noting that the three abducted policemen, two of whom were later brutally executed, were serving the country, and providing security to those who ironically turned against them, President Buhari sends heartfelt condolences to the bereaved families, praying for God’s comfort in their deep sorrow.

Read Also: Northern elders to Buhari: it’ll be dangerous to release Kanu

“He equally sympathises with all those who have lost loved ones in the different theatres of insecurity that had rocked the country, charging them to take solace in the inevitable victory of good over evil.

“As the areas where insecurity was once fiercest in the country experience some measures of calm now, President Buhari assures that the same would be replicated around the country, and the people would no longer mourn and sorrow from the wanton loss of lives.”

IPOB: ESN not responsible 

IPOB disassociated itself from the alleged beheading of security agents in the viral video.

In a statement by its spokesman, Emma Powerful, the group described as spurious an allegation that it was responsible for the murder.

“We wish to state unequivocally that IPOB and ESN are disciplined freedom movement and security outfit respectively.

“Therefore, such barbarity as seen in the said video is not, has never been and will never be part of our modus operandi.

“The perpetrators of such barbarism are neither IPOB nor ESN operatives. IPOB has remained a non-violent movement since inception.”

Kanu’s lawyers fault DSS over ‘visitor’

Also yesterday, Ifeanyi Ejiofor, one of the lawyers of IPOB leader Nnamdi Kanu, alleged that the Department of State Services (DSS) breached a court order by giving an unauthorised visitor access to his client.

Although Ejiofor did not name anyone, a former governor of Abia State and current Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu, said he visited the IPOB leader on Monday.

The lawyer alleged that the DSS allowed a visitor access to his client before the time scheduled for the formal visit and without Kanu’s lawyers being present.

Ejiofor, in the statement posted on his Facebook wall yesterday, said: “Our yesterday’s (Monday’s) routine visit to our client – Onyendu Mazi Nnamdi Kanu – was hugely insightful, following the successful twist in our introduced methodology…

“Meaningful interventions were reviewed, and legal steps we are exploring to continue to checkmate the aggressors within the ambits of legal inhibitions were thoroughly x-rayed.

“Kudos were given to deserving members of our legal team who have remained outstanding in the discharge of their professional duties, as well as every one of us who have remained relentless and resolute.

“Our client continues to admonish for peaceful co-existence of UmuChineke, unflinching support and unshaken loyalty.

“You may wish to note, and be very much assured that our client’s eyes are always on the ball, as he has remained ever resolute and unperturbed despite being gravely disappointed by those he hitherto trusted.

“We can at best describe what transpired yesterday (Monday) between a visitor whom the detaining authority ostensibly aided to violate the court-ordered guideline for visiting our client as bizarre and unusual.

“The DSS is not oblivious of the terms of the court’s guideline which they have consistently maintained in the past that it must be obeyed to the letter, and through which position they had denied many friends and attorneys of our client, access to him.

“However, caution was thrown to the wind and instead of insisting on this full compliance with the existing guideline, the DSS for reasons best known to them allowed a visitor access to our client even before the time scheduled for the formal visit and without his lawyers being present during the visit.”

Ejiofor said it was of “serious concern” that the visit was conducted without strict adherence to the court-ordered guideline.

He added that it was “more condescending that the visit later became a subject of political gimmicks”.

“If our client’s attorneys, his flesh and blood brothers, and his wife will visit him in due compliance with the court-ordered guideline, how can the DSS authorise a visit from any other person in gross violation of this guideline?

“There is more to it than meets the eyes, which the DSS is now under a compelling duty to explain to us.

“Granted that his name appeared among the list submitted at the 11th hour alongside the names of the lawyers scheduled for the visit, but hurriedly proceeding to conduct the visit without us being present in line with the requirement of the guideline left us with many unanswered questions.

“We have initiated a formal process towards ensuring a thorough investigation of what transpired yesterday (Monday), and we shall not hesitate to formally address the world on this subject if there is any attempt to sweep our petition under the carpet,” the lawyer said.

DSS spokesman, Dr Peter Afunanya, did not respond to enquiries for his response on the matter.

By Nduka Chiejina and John Ofikhenua, Abuja

African Development Bank (AfDB) President Dr.  Akinwunmi Adesina has cautioned the Federal Government to pull the brake on tax increment.

He said the fact that Nigeria taxes are relatively lower cannot be justification for incessant tax raise.

According to him, it will be double jeopardy to over tax citizens who provide basic amenities the government has failed to offer.

The AfDB boss gave the advice yesterday in Abuja while delivering a lecture at the annual conference of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN).

He listed such facilities as portable water, electricity, security and neighbourhood roads among others.

Dr. Adesina said: “Low tax to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rate in the country is not an excuse for the Federal Government to keep increasing taxes.

“While other countries with high tax rates have functional free education and free health care system among others, such cannot be said for Nigeria.”

“In Nigeria, the inefficient system has imposed an implicit tax on the Nigerians as the people are made to provide basic essential facilities that should have been made available by government.

“While tax rates are relatively low in Nigeria, it simply is not an excuse to keep increasing taxes.

“Take the case of Norway for example. Its tax-to-GDP ratio is 39 per cent. Singapore’s tax-to-GDP ratio is 13.2 per cent. And Nigeria’s tax-to-GDP is 6.1 per cent. It is easy to make the comparison and say Nigeria needs to raise its taxes to similar levels as in Norway or Singapore.

“But, also consider the following: In Norway, education is free through university. In Singapore, a country that had only 1/3 of Nigeria’s per capita income at its independence in 1965; today has 100 per cent access to electricity and 100 per cent access to water.

“While progress is being made the challenge, however, is that in many parts of Nigeria, citizens do not have access to basic services that governments should be providing as part of the social contract.

“People sink their own private boreholes to get water. They generate their own electricity often times with diesel. They build roads to their neighbourhoods. They provide security services themselves.

“These are implicit taxes, borne by society due to either inefficient government or government failure. As such, we must distinguish between nominal taxes and implicit taxes — taxes that are borne by the people but neither seen nor recorded.

“It has become so common that we do not even bother to question it. But the fact is governments can simply transfer its responsibility to citizens without being held accountable for its social contract obligations.”

In an attempt to boost tax revenue in February last year, the federal government raised VAT from five per cent to 7.5 per cent.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has been persistent in encouraging Nigeria to increase its value-added tax (VAT) rate to at least 10 per cent by 2022 and 15 per cent by 2025 to boost revenues after its recovery from a recession.