The Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, says the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution set up last Monday to investigate human rights violations by SARS operatives has had its terms of reference expanded to also investigate the circumstances that led to the shooting of protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza on Tuesday evening by soldiers.
The panel, Mr Sanwo-Olu said, will start its sitting next Monday at the Lagos Court Arbitration Centre international in Lekki. He urged members of the public to send their petitions and evidence on the Lekki incident to the panel investigation.
From the early hours of Friday, Sanwo-Olu moved round the State on an inspection of the assets destroyed by the arsonists, taking stock of losses to the Government and private businesses.
High Court of Lagos State in Igbosere – has become a ghost of itself. Its unique architectural design has been tarnished, coated with smudge of soots. Its roof blown off flames; courtrooms littered with charred remains of files and wood charcoals.
The desecration of the court depicts, in part, the proportions of the Wednesday coordinated arsonist attacks on public assets and private property in Lagos.
The destruction was instigated by the mayhem that resulted from the protests against brutality committed by operatives of the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) aptly tagged #EndSARS
The governor appeared to be in disbelief at the sight of the proportions of destruction wreaked by hoodlums, who took advantage of the #EndSARS protest to destroy and loot.
Mr Sanwo-Olu, who was joined by the deputy governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and some members of the State’s Executive Council, stopped at every community affected by the violence, preaching peace and assuring residents that the government was on top of the situation.
At the headquarters of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area in Ajegunle, all that was left in the premises was the charred remains of the vehicles and office materials torched by the hoodlums. The imposing council’s secretariat was completely vandalised before it was razed.
Sanwo-Olu described the arson attack in Lagos as “coordinated wanton destruction”, saying it would take the State many decades to recover from the devastation.
“My heart bled after I went out today for a first-hand assessment of the destruction of assets of the Government and private properties. The level of destruction observed indicated that the violence was more than just a peaceful protest and agitations for police reforms. The proportion of the devastation is a lot. This is not the Lagos that was handed over to me on May 29, 2019.
“Moving forward from the destruction, we have to continue the process of healing ourselves. We need to stop some of our citizens still using the social media to instigate or incite the people. It will not be under my watch that we will lose the city that has the largest economy in the entire black nation. Enough is enough. I have moved round and I saw that our people want peace. On this, we are committed to bringing lasting peace back to the State,” he said.
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