By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
As Nigerians and even the international community are waiting for the Lagos state government’s White Paper on the Lagos #ENDSARS Panel of Inquiry recommendations, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Femi Falana has said no Minister has the power to throw away the recommendations of any Commission of Inquiry duly set up by any state government or Federal Capital Territory Administration (FCTA).
He also stated that if any government which sets up Commission of Inquiry fails to implement the recommendations, the victims can approach the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague for redress.
Falana who spoke on African Independent Television (AIT) breakfast programme ‘Kakaaki’ on Tuesday, emphatically rejected the call by some people that Lagos state government should discard the recommendations of the Lagos #ENDSARS Panel.
According to him: “Under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, if a Panel of Inquiry or Commission of Inquiry duly constituted by a state government has made any recommendations, no other government seating anywhere within the federation can fault that recommendations or throw it away”.
Former President, West African Bar Association (WABA) insists that as long as such offences as
murder, arson, wanton killings, destruction of public properties, massacre among others are under the jurisdiction of state governments and the FCTA, only State Attorneys General can prosecute the offenders and not the Federal Government as argued by some people.
Said he: “the Governor can under the cumulative interpretation of Sections 15 and 21 of the Tribunals of Inquiry Law enforce remedies which are within the jurisdiction of the State High Courts, which are majorly reparations (compensations) for the victims in form of a judgement entered against the erring party-being the Commissioner of Police of the particular state in his or her official capacity.
“Luckily, Lagos state has already started implementing the recommendations of the Justice Okwuobi Lagos #ENDSARS Panel by paying out millions of naira to victims of the Lagos mayhem”.
The Human rights activist also said that he does not the opposition to the Lagos #ENDSARS Panel Report, pointing out that in the same Lagos state, the incumbent Vice President Professor Yemi Osinbajo as the Attorney General of Lagos had successfully prosecuted cases against federal agents.
According to him: ‘the current Minister of Interior, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola and Minister of Works and Housing Babatunde Raji Fashola as stateGovernors in Osun and Lagos had set up Commissions of Inquiry and had also prosecuted federal offenders. So what has changed now”.
He warned federal officials to thread softly, pointing out that a seating President or Governor may be dragged to ICC just as the incumbent President of Kenya, Uhuru Kenyetta was dragged to ICC by victims of his regime.
The constitutionality of the Lagos #ENDSARS Judicial Panel of Inquiry constituted by state governments to probe alleged Police brutality, codenamed #EndSARS panel has been generating much fuore in Nigeria with some Federal Ministers viciously attacking the Panel’s Report.
This singular act has been generating a storm in the Inner Bar as Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SAN) have engaged in a back-and-forth since the Lagos State panel, on November 15, submitted its report, which indicted the Nigerian Army and the Police for alleged “massacre” of Lagos residents protesting police brutality at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.
The Lagos panel report, in particular, has provided the opportunity for agents of the state, led by the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, also a senior lawyer, to hit the nationwide exercise.
However, President Muhammadu Buhari had assured the global community when he hosted the visiting United States of America (USA) Secretary of State Anthony Blinkin of official action once reports from all participating states, were in.
But another high-ranking official of the administration last Sunday thrashed the entire exercise, nationwide. Specifically, during an appearance on Channels Television ‘Sunday Politics’ Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Festus Keyamo, discarded the much-vaunted Lagos probe panel report and labelled the nationwide effort a waste.
On a general note, he said, “all the Panels of Inquiry set up by the various states of the federation following the crisis that arose as the result of #EndSARS protest all over the country are illegal.”
But Falana has disagreed with Keyamo, calling his attention to subsisting judgements of superior courts of records. “With respect, tribunal of inquiry is not one of the items in the Exclusive List or the Concurrent List to the Constitution. Therefore, it is a residual matter within the Exclusive Legislative competence of state governments”.
