Real reason Nigerian govt rejected #EndSARS panels —Adegboruwa

Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa (SAN), a member of the Lagos #EndSARS probe panel set up by the state government to investigate the killing of protesting Nigerian youths at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020, has reacted to comments credited to Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo, that the probe panels set up by state governments were illegal.

Keyamo had, while appearing on a television programme on Sunday, said the panels were illegal and their reports were not binding on the Federal Government.

However, Adegboruwa, in a statement on Monday, said the only reason the Federal Government was rejecting the panels was because the reports so far were not favourable to it.

“The Federal Government has recently muted the idea that all the Judicial Panels of Inquiry set up by the various States across the Federation, especially that of Lagos State, are illegal.

“It has never been part of our legal system in Nigeria, for a plaintiff who approached the court in the first instance, to turn around to challenge the legality or jurisdiction of the court.

Read also: Adegboruwa questions Lagos govt’s motives in wake of backlash on #EndSARS report

“The #EndSARS Panels were set up at the behest of the Federal Government, through the National Economic Council.

“In the case of the Lagos Panel, the Federal Government, through the Nigerian Army, voluntarily submitted itself to the jurisdiction of the Panel, the Federal Government called witnesses, it tendered documents and it made very lengthy presentations.

“A party cannot approbate and reprobate at the same time. Thus, a party who initiated a process and willingly and actively participated in that process, cannot turn around, after judgment, to plead illegality or absence of jurisdiction, simply because the outcome is unfavorable. We must strengthen our institutions to make them work.

“While we all await the White Paper from the Lagos State Government, it is important for government to build trust in the people in all its dealings and utterances,” he added.

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