[ICYMI] Lekki Tollgate: Youth Rep, Rinu, Pulls Out Of Lagos #EndSARS Panel


Rinu Oduala, a youth representative on the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing alleged killing of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate last October has stepped down from the panel.

She made the disclosure on Friday in a piece, ‘Let’s stay the course of justice, partial wins are not enough’.

The activist, who faulted the planned reopening of the Lekki toll gate, maintained that justice has not been served to victims of the Lekki shootings of October 20, 2020.

Four members of the panel including Oduala faulted the decision of the panel but the chairman of the panel, retired Justice Doris Okuwobi, and four other members of the panel acceded to LCC’s request to repossess the toll gate.

Subsequently, hashtags such as #OccupyLekkiTollgate and counter-protest hashtags such as #DefendLagos and #DemNoBornYourPapaWell trended online.

Both protests are slated for Saturday but the Federal Government, the Lagos State Government and the Nigeria Police Force have warned against any form of protest in the Lekki toll gate area or any part of the state.

In the piece today, Oduala said, “My stand on the reopening on the toll gate is clear; the state government and the private organisation operating the toll have not been cleared of collusion with elements allegedly deployed by the federal govt to target citizens on home soil during a time of peace, without provocation action.

“We must not forget the purpose of this panel: to address injustice and create accountability for the SARS brutality and for the heinous events on 20th October 2020.

“When calls for justice are subsumed by commercial concerns and vested interests, it calls into question the legitimacy and integrity of the entire affair and the impartiality of the proceedings. Without a final panel report or actionable steps, we are returning to the status quo.”

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