A group under the aegis of Youth Rights Campaign (YRC) has condemned the decision of the Lagos State Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS abuses to return possession of the Lekki Tollgate to the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) and has threatened to hold a fresh protest at the gate to begin by 7.am on Saturday, February 13, 2021.
According to YRC, reopening the gate before conclusion of investigation is an attempt to deny justice, as well as undermine the demand for justice by Nigerians as the issues surrounding the tragic events of October 20, 2020, have not been resolved.
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YRC had earlier stressed that the Lagos state panel, on the basis of lacking independence and democracy, was not capable of ensuring justice and bringing to book all those culpable in the Lekki shooting and killing of protesters on October 20, 2020.
In a statement, YRC said, “What clearly motivated this decision of the panel is the revenue loss being experienced by LCC due to the closure. As far as we are concerned, the human lives lost at the tollgate are far more precious and valuable than any profit.”
The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry, on Saturday, approved the reopening of the gate, although it was also reported that the panel was divided over the repossession of the tollgate plaza by LCC. While five members of the panel sat over the application of the LCC to repossess the tollgate; the other four members abstained from the sitting, only to emerge from the inner chamber to read their dissenting judgment on the matter.