The revelations of a Panel of Inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government to investigate the involvement of the Nigerian military and the Police in the alleged massacre of harmless and helpless Nigerian youths during the #EndSARS protest revealed a damning involvement of the men in uniform, particularly the military on that fateful day of October 20, 2020. It is now one year and one month since the peaceful protest took place, when Nigerian youths across the length and breadth of the country trooped out for weeks and demanded the disbandment of the Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), an arm of the Police, for engaging in alleged extortions and intimidations of the members of the public and extrajudicial killings of innocent Nigerians. Firstly, when the videos of the despicable act of the Police and the military went viral on the social media, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, denied completely that the military personnel were not invited at any time to quell the protest.
ln another breath, the same Minister of Information and Culture admitted that the military was called and at no time was any single bullet fired at Lekki, which was the epicenter of the protest. He, in fact, taunted the Nigerian public when he described the shooting at Lekki Toll Gate as a massacre without bodies. The revelations of the panel of inquiry set up by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu who at first denied knowledge of what transpired at Lekki but later recanted, has exposed how those that represent us in government cannot speak truth to justice even when the society is in dire straits, occasioned by a handful of individuals that have continued to subvert the collective wish and aspirations of the Nigerian people. Unfortunately, one year after the #EndSARS imbroglio, a protest that was adjudged the best ever, the government of the day, unfortunately has not deemed it fit to address the issues raised by the Nigerian youths. What this means, is that, the cabal which the first lady, Mrs. Aisha Buhari talked about sometimes ago, indeed are still holding the country hostage and are ready to inflict more wounds on Nigerians who are already over-stretched given the austere time and the security challenge running riot everywhere.
The report and the admittance by the panel of inquiry inaugurated one year ago to look into the #EndSARS saga that there were infractions committed by the Nigerian military and the Police however portrays the Nigerian government in bad light who at that time was busy defending the indefensible. Now that the chicken has come home to roost, the Nigerian people demand an apology from the government of the day, even though the lives that were wasted cannot be brought back. The payment of compensations as it stands cannot heal the wounds inflicted on the Nigerian youths who today are scared and have equally lost trust in the government whose primary duty it is to protect her citizens. We demand also that those indicted across board should be prosecuted. Never has it been heard anywhere, if not in Nigeria where citizens are massacred even when they were clad in their national colour. This matter, because of its various implications, must not be swept under the carpet. Nigerians deserve better treatment and absolute transparency in governance.