Human rights activist, Femi Falana (SAN), has slammed the Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, for describing as fake news the report of the panel constituted by the Lagos State Government to investigate the Lekki massacre of protesters last year October.
He slammed the
minister for overruling President Muhammadu Buhari’s pledge to the
United States Secretary of State, Anthony Blinken, that his government
would work on recommendations of the reports of the federating states.
Falana said these in a statement titled, 'Federal Government Is Not Competent To Reject The Report Of Okuwobi Judicial Commission Of Inquiry.'
A copy of the statement was obtained by HotunzBlog on Wednesday.
It
partly reads, "On November 18, 2021, President Muhammadu Buhari held a
meeting in Abuja with Mr. Anthony Blinken, the United States Secretary
of State. During the meeting, President Buhari said that the state
governments in the country would have to take steps on the reports of
their panels before the federal government acts on the recommendations.
"In
particular, the President said, 'We at the federal have to wait for the
steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We
can’t impose ideas on them. The federal government has to wait for the
reaction of the states.'
"But in an utter display of executive
rascality, Mr. Lai Mohammed, the Minister of Information, has overruled
the President by rejecting the report of the Lagos panel on behalf of
the Federal Government.
"By not waiting 'for the reaction of the
states', the minister has overruled the president of the republic. As if
that was not enough, the minister decided to insult the Governor of
Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwoolu, by rejecting the report of the
judicial commission instituted by him under the Tribunal of Enquiry Law
of Lagos State.
"Thus, the governor, who is currently studying the
report, has been presented with a fait accompli by the minister. As far
as Mr. Mohammed is concerned, the governor must toe his line."
The
human rights lawyer described the minister as arrogant, despite being a
lawyer himself to have called a report of judicial panel "fake news".
Falana
added, "Mr. Mohammed has described the 309-page report of a judicial
tribunal as "fake news". As a lawyer of many years' standing, the
minister ought to have known that it is the height of arrogant contempt
to describe the report of a Judicial Commission of Enquiry constituted
under the Tribunal of Enquiry Law as "fake".
"It is regrettable to
note that the minister has failed to realize that the Lagos State
Government is not an extension of the Federal Government but a sovereign
entity in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Since
the name of the Federal Government is not clothed with any power under
the Tribunal of Enquiry Law, the purported rejection of the report by
the Minister ought to be treated with disdain by the Lagos State
Government.
"In a press conference held on October 20, 2021, Mr.
Mohammed had recalled that the National Economic Council had directed
state governors to immediately forward copies of final reports of the
panels to their attorneys-general for prompt arraignment and prosecution
of all indicted persons. Where incidents in the reports relate to
matters of discipline, in addition to prosecution, NEC urged the Nigeria
Police Force to take disciplinary action on the affected officers in
line with the provisions of the Police Act 2020.' Has Mr. Mohammed
overruled the collective decision of the National Economic Council?
"However,
it is pertinent to point out that Mr. Mohammed's comment on the report
lacks originality as it is a mere regurgitation of the jaundiced views
of a couple of aggrieved individuals.
"The two individuals, have
tried, albeit unsuccessfully, to discredit the findings and
recommendations of the body. In a desperate attempt to mislead the
governor, both aggrieved persons have been campaigning for the total
rejection of the report because of the so-called discrepancies and
inconsistencies contained in the document.
"No doubt, these
individuals are entitled to express their opinions on the report of the
commission. But the call for the rejection of the report is illegal in
every material.
"In December 2015, the Nigerian Army massacred
hundreds of Shiites in Zaria and hurriedly buried their bodies in a mass
grave at Mango in Kaduna State on the orders of the then Chief of Army
Staff.
"Even though Mr. Mohammed said that the report of the
genocidal attack was a hoax, the Justice Garba Judicial Commission of
Enquiry instituted by the Kaduna State Government confirmed a casualty
figure of 348 Shiites. Six years thereafter, the authorities have
ignored the recommendation of the Judicial Commission that the culprits
be prosecuted.
"The Lagos Judicial Commission of Enquiry accepted the
evidence of forensic experts to the effect that 99 dead bodies were
dumped in the various mortuaries in Lagos State during the protests. Mr.
Mohammed has described the massacre as "fake news".
"Finally, Mr.
Mohammed's callous comment on the cold murder of unarmed citizens at the
Lekki Toll Gate is a sad reminder of his own experience under the same
forces of brutalization.
"On August 8, 2014, Mr. Mohammed, the then
Publicity Secretary of the APC had left Lagos for Osogbo, Osun State in
support of Governor Rauf Aregbesola's re-election bid. Later that night
it was reported that he had been kidnapped by a team of hooded
operatives of the State Security Service.
"I was aroused from my
sleep by Governor Aregbesola who requested me to assist in searching for
Mr. Mohammed. However, a couple of hours later, I was relieved when it
was reported that he had regained his freedom.
"But the PDP
dismissed the kidnap story as a hoax emanating from the fecund
imagination of Mr. Mohammed. Having completely crossed to the other side
of the political divide, Mr. Mohammed conveniently regards news of the
tragic massacre of unarmed citizens as fake.
"Mr. Mohamned’s steps undermine the rule of law and social justice in the land. President Buhari should caution him."
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