Youth Rep, Oduala withdraws from Lagos #ENDSARS panel
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probing alleged killing of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate last October, Rinu Oduala, has withdrawn from the panel.
She announced this on Friday in a piece titled ‘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 justice has not been served to victims of the Lekki shootings of October 20, 2020.
The panel, last Saturday, decided to hand over the tollgate back to its operators, Lekki Concession Company, after forensic experts submitted their report on the October 20, 2020 incident.
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.
The 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.
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.”