General
UN Urges FG to Implement Lagos #EndSARS Panel Recommendations
By Adedapo Adesanya
The United Nations (UN) has called on the federal government to implement the recommendations of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution set up to investigate issues surrounding the #EndSARS protests of 2020.
This call was given by the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Nigeria, Mr Edward Kallon in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday, noting that the submission of the report of the panel was a welcome development.
“I welcome the submission to the Lagos State Governor, H.E. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, of the reports of the judicial panel on claims of brutality and shooting in the Lekki area of Lagos State, during the 2020 #EndSARS protests,” he said.
Mr Kallon noted that the submission of the findings of the judicial panel would accelerate the process of justice and accountability.
“I urge the government to implement the recommendations of the judicial panel of inquiry to rebuild trust and start the process of healing and reconciliation,” he added.
Background
On Monday, the panel, established to look into the shootings at the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020, submitted its report to the Lagos State Government.
However, a leaked version of the report indicting the state government and the Nigerian Army was released on the Internet, leading to an uproar across social media.
In the report, the panel indicted soldiers and implicated Nigeria’s security agents in the killing and forced disappearances of harmless and unarmed youths protesting at Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020.
The Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel made the revelation in a 309-page report submitted to Governor Sanwo-Olu, which found that at least 48 protesters were either shot dead or injured or assaulted.
Also, page 294 of the report read: “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters, while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a ‘massacre’ in context.”
On page 295: “It was alleged and corroborated that the soldiers had their vans parked at the Lekki Toll Gate and removed as many bodies and corpses of the fallen protesters which they took away with their vans.”
According to the report, “the Nigerian Army was invited for intervention in the State and was deployed to Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October 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 own Rules of Engagement.
“The Panel found that the Nigerian Police Force deployed its officers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th October 2020 and between that night and the morning of the 21st of October, 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.
“The panel found that LCC hampered the panel’s investigation by refusing to turn over some useful and vital information/evidence as requested by the Panel and the Forensic Expert engaged by the panel, even where such information and evidence was by the company’s admission, available.
“It manipulated the incomplete CCTV Video footage of the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th of October 2020, which it tendered before the Panel.
“The Panel found that there was an invitation of the Nigerian Army to Lagos State made by the Lagos State Government through the Governor before the hierarchy of the Nigerian Army deployed its soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the 20th of October.
“The Panel found that there was an attempt to cover up the Incident of the 20th of October by the cleaning of the Lekki Toll Gate and the failure to preserve the scene ahead of potential investigations.”
In its recommendations, the panel recommended various sums of compensation to victims of the Lekki Toll Gate Incident, which must be expeditious in order to accelerate the healing process.
It also recommended that any data that may have been generated over the years on the impunity of the Police across Nigeria be studied and deployed as early warning signs (EWS) mechanism.
Others include sanctioning of the officers of the Nigerian Army and the Nigerian Police Force respectively who participated in the shooting, injuring and killing of unarmed protestors at the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20 and 21st of October 2020; Development of more robust engagement between the Youth and the Government; Setting up of a Standing Committee/Tribunal to deal with cases of Violation of Human Rights by security agencies and a trust fund to settle compensation awarded by such committee/tribunal, among others.
By Adedapo Adesanya
The Director General of the Nigerian Maritime Administration and Safety Agency (NIMASA), Mr Dayo Mobereola, is seeking enhanced cooperation between the agency and the Nigerian Air Force (NAF) with the aim of strengthening tactical air support within the Deep Blue project.
During a courtesy visit last week, Mr Mobereola told the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall S. K. Aneke at the NAF Headquarters in Abuja, that the Air Force was a strategic partner in enhancing maritime security in Nigeria and sustaining the momentum of the Deep Blue Project’s success.
According to the DG, “We are here to seek the Air Force’s support, given the importance of tactical air surveillance to the Deep Blue Project. Nigeria is the only African country with a record of zero piracy within the last 4 years. The Deep Blue Project platforms have been used to achieve zero piracy and sea robberies in the Gulf of Guinea, and we need your collaboration to sustain this momentum”.
He further emphasised that international trade depends on security, which is why vessels prefer to go to or transit through countries where they are secured. “With the traffic we have now, we need to show more security might through collaboration to strengthen our trade viability because of the risks attached to our route. We need these collaborations to sustain what we have achieved so far with the Deep Blue Project”.
The NIMASA DG expressed hope that the collaboration with the Nigeria Air Force will reduce response time.
On his part, the Chief of Air Staff, Air Marshall S.K. Aneke, noted that the Air Force desires to be “a very supportive and collaborative partner with NIMASA and is ready to match the Agency step by step and side by side to achieve the desired results.”
He noted that “collaboration between NIMASA and the Nigerian Air Force under the Deep Blue Project can be strengthened through a joint strategic framework, integrated command structures, and a standing steering committee to ensure shared objectives and accountability.
“Establishing a joint maritime domain awareness fusion cell will enable real-time intelligence sharing, synchronised surveillance, and faster response to maritime threats and ensure sustained operational effectiveness across Nigeria’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zone,” he said, according to a statement.
The Air Force Chief added that the Air Force can also support NIMASA outside the Deep Blue Project operations by providing its own ISR platforms, tactical air support, and rapid airborne deployment for interdictions and search and rescue missions.
While thanking the NIMASA DG for the basic trainings the Agency has provided the aircraft pilots under the Deep Blue Project, Air Marshall Aneke also highlighted areas of operational challenges needing NIMASA’s attention to include bridging the communication gap between NAF operators and NIMASA, higher level and in-depth maintenance trainings, readily available fueling of aircrafts to avoid delays on missions, and provision of flying kits among others.
He therefore pledged the Air Force’s collaboration and assured that the request by NIMASA has been noted and that things will begin to move at thrice its speed going forward.
By Modupe Gbadeyanka
Former Vice President, Mr Atiku Abubakar, has lambasted the administration of President Bola Tinubu for the turnout at the FCT Area Council elections held last Saturday.
In a statement signed by his Media Office, the Adamawa-born politician claimed that the health of Nigeria’s democracy under the current administration was under threat.
According to him, “When citizens lose faith that their votes matter, democracy begins to die. What we are witnessing is not mere voter apathy. It is a direct consequence of an administration that governs with a chokehold on pluralism. Democracy in Nigeria is being suffocated slowly, steadily, and dangerously.”
He warned that the steady erosion of participatory governance, if left unchecked, could inflict irreversible damage on the democratic fabric painstakingly built over decades.
“A democracy without vibrant opposition, without free political competition, and without public confidence is democracy in name only. If this chokehold is not released, history will record this era as the period when our hard-won freedoms were traded for fear and conformity,” he stressed.
Mr Atiku said the turnout for the poll was below 20 per cent, with the Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) recording 7.8 per cent.
He noted that such civic participation in the nation’s capital, the symbolic heartbeat of the federation, is not accidental, as it is the predictable outcome of a political environment poisoned by intolerance, intimidation, and the systematic weakening of opposition voices.
The presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 general elections stated that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) under Mr Tinubu has pursued a deliberate policy of shrinking democratic space, harassing dissenters, coercing defectors, and fostering a climate where alternative political viewpoints are treated as threats rather than contributions to national development.
He called on opposition parties and democratic forces across the country to urgently close ranks and forge a united front, declaring, “This is no longer about party lines; it is about preserving the Republic. The time to stand together to rescue and rebuild Nigeria is now.”
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria is set to validate a technical committee report geared towards transitioning the country from observer status to full membership of the Council of Palm Oil Producing Countries (CPOPC) in April.
Mr Abubakar Kyari, Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, said this when the council’s mission visited him over the weekend in Abuja, noting that the ministry had constituted a technical committee to consider how the country would seamlessly transit from observer country to membership in CPOPC based on its strategic importance in palm oil production.
“We are conscious of the fact that the palm oil value chain is very strategic for us and identified it as an export crop that can drive foreign exchange for the country and ensure good health in terms of consumption.
“We are conscious of the fact that we need the support of CPOPC countries to provide the country with a new variety of seeds that are climate-smart and resistant so that they can be produced by farmers in the country,” he said.
Mr Alphonsus Inyang, President, National Palm Produce Association of Nigeria (NPPAN), said being a member of CPOPC Nigeria would target over 10 million tonnes of oil palm between 2026 and 2050.
“We are also targeting 2.5 million hectares from among Nigeria households who are out to produce one hectare each, geared towards a N20 trillion annual economy within this period from among Nigeria households.
“We are working side by side with the big players who will be developing plantations,” he said.
The Secretary-General of CPOPC, Ms Izzana Salleh, said the council’s mission to Nigeria was to see how the country could transit from observer status to full membership, among others
She said that the status of the country as an observer nation since 2024 would expire by November.
Ms Salleh assured the country of the council’s readiness to support its vision to strengthen domestic production, enhance food security and build a competitive and sustainable palm oil supply chain.
The official emphasised that being a member of the council would strategically position Nigeria for a greater future regarding oil palm production.
According to her, the visit is to strengthen the council’s engagement with Nigeria, including potential membership in CPOPC.
She said: “The council’s mission to Nigeria aims to advance both Nigeria’s national ambitions and Africa’s collective voice in global agricultural discussions.
“CPOPC was established to promote cooperation among producing nations, empower smallholders, advance sustainability, and ensure fair, science-based global dialogue on vegetable oils.
She emphasised that being a member of the council would strategically position the country for greater future prospects regarding oil palm production and the value chain, as well as export.
“We are ready to support Nigeria’s vision to strengthen domestic production, enhance food security, and build a competitive and sustainable palm oil supply chain,” she said.
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