The Nigerian Army says it will appear on Saturday before the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by Lagos State to probe the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters on 20th October at the Lekki tollgate.
Sources close to the retired Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel confirmed that the army had acknowledged the panel’s invitation and the panel had fixed Saturday (7th November, 2020) for its appearance at the hearing taking place at the Lagos Court of Arbitration, Lekki.
The shootings have attracted local and international condemnations with Amnesty International saying that no fewer than 12 people were killed.
Spokesman of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Major Osoba Olaniyi has earlier said that the Army will only honour the invitation of the panel if it is invited by the Lagos State Government.
“If we receive a letter from the state, we will go. Are we not under civil authorities? Are we not part of Nigerians? Have you forgotten that we did not go there (Lekki tollgate) on our own?.
“It is the state government that constituted that panel of inquiry. So, if anybody needs to get in touch with us to come, it is still the state, not the members,” Olaniyi had said.
But on Thursday, multiple sources confirmed to that the army had changed its position and would be presenting its case before the panel on Saturday.
One of the sources close to the panel, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “Contrary to its earlier posture of resistance, the Nigerian Army seems to have bowed to pressure in respect of the invitation to appear before the Lagos panel on SARS. The Army will appear before the panel on Saturday. That is the day the panel has fixed for the Army to appear.
“You know the panel was set up with the approval of the National Executive Council and President Muhammadu Buhari has always assured Nigerians and indeed the international community of full cooperation with the panel, so the Army cannot afford to ignore the invitation from the panel duly signed by its chairperson, who is a judicial officer.
“The whole world is watching us and all eyes are on the panel, especially in respect of the Lekki Tollgate. The Army is critical to the work of the panel and it will erode public confidence in the government if any of its institutions snubs the panel with impunity. After all, the President is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, so how can the army openly defy the Panel that its own Commander-in-Chief has endorsed?”
The source dismissed the fear that the panel might not be objective since it was set up by the Governor of Lagos State, whom the Army said called for the soldiers who engaged the peaceful protesters at Lekki tollgate.
