In a statement, the Lagos-based lawyer said the absence of Buhari should not affect the passage of the bill into law.

This is as the 30-day period within which the President is expected to assent or withhold his approval to the bill ends today. The bill was transmitted to the President on November 19, 2021, after both chambers passed it.

He said, “On November 13, 2021, the National Assembly forwarded the Electoral Act (Amendment) Bill to the President for his assent. The President did not assent before he travelled to Turkey, thus truncating the reforms encapsulated in that historic Bill. There are many innovative provisions in the Bill that make it attractive as a tool to oil our democratic experiment, especially the issues of electronic transmission of election results and direct primaries for the political parties. From the events monitored on the floor of the National Assembly and indeed the public hearings conducted, it is clear that Nigerians prefer that results of elections be transmitted electronically by INEC in order to avoid the recurring decimal of manipulation and rigging. In the same vein, direct primaries for the choice of candidates of political parties will eliminate the hydra-headed issues of godfatherism and the imposition of candidates. Under and by virtue of section 58 (5) of the 1999 Constitution, where the President withholds his assent and a Bill is again passed by each House by a two-thirds majority, the Bill shall become law and the assent of the President shall not be required. I urge the National Assembly, in the national interest, to invoke its constitutional powers to pass the Electoral Bill and save our democracy from imminent collapse. As the elected representatives of the people, our legislators should act in the interest of their respective constituencies. Democracy is about the people, so it is essential that politicians who made promises of electoral reforms while canvassing for votes should honour their vows to the people when they get into office. Nigerians expect the National Assembly to shake off the toga of being a rubber stamp entity and use this golden opportunity to assert their autonomy. This matter is important and pressing enough to warrant the suspension of the current recess of the National Assembly for the purpose of passing the Bill and in that wise, override presidential assent. Nothing is too much to give to salvage our hard-earned democracy.”

The senior advocate said the judicial panels were set up at the behest of the Federal Government, through the National Economic Council, and so, cannot be termed illegal because the findings of some of the panels aren’t in favour of the regime of President Buhari

The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo (SAN), on Sunday, had dismissed the EndSARS panel set up by the Lagos State Government and the report it presented to the state government recently.

Keyamo had said the panel was illegal because it was out of the jurisdiction of the panel to investigate the activities of Federal Government institutions and officials such as the Police and the Army.

But in a statement on Monday titled, ‘The Legality Of #EndSARS Panels’, Adegboruwa said, “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. 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 unfavourable. 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 the government to build trust in the people in all its dealings and utterances.”

Adegboruwa raised the alarm in a statement on Monday titled, ‘Nigerians Should Hold Government Responsible If Anything Happens To Me.

The Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel submitted its report to the Lagos State Government, noting that at least nine persons were confirmed dead at the Lekki toll plaza when soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.

The 309-page report stated, “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags and while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a massacre in context.”

Many Nigerians have been outraged by the panel’s report which is at variance with the consistent claim by the government that there was no “massacre” at the toll gate, a focal gathering point during last year’s nationwide demonstration against extrajudicial killings and police brutality by operatives of the now-defunct Special Anti-Robbery Squad of the Nigeria Police Force.

But Adegboruwa, who represented the civil society organisation on the panel, said members of the panel are being unfairly persecuted by some state government officials.

He wrote, “Since the submission of the report of the Lagos #EndSARS Panel, there have been lots of threats and attacks, by those suspected to be agents of the government, upon me, especially in the media. I have not committed any crime beyond joining other eminent Nigerians with unblemished integrity, to accept the nomination of government on behalf of my constituency, the Nigerian Bar Association and the civil society and indeed the masses of our people, for a national assignment. Two prominent lawyers of the government have openly incited opinions against me on national television, with mindless accusations. I have however refused to be intimidated or bend to the tactics of government to be silenced. I urge the good people of Nigeria, my professional colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association, my comrades in the civil rights movement and the people of Nigeria, to hold the government responsible should anything happen to me. Just last night, one of the prominent EndSARS protesters who testified before the Panel, Miss Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, was attacked and dealt serious machete blows, in what was clearly an attempted murder, as reported by her counsel, with very disturbing photos. I heeded the clarion call to serve by the government with the honest belief that the Panel was meant to say the truth and nothing but the truth, which is what we have done. It is left for government and Nigerians to do the needful with the report of the Panel.”

The senior advocate also raised the alarm over the alleged threat to his life since the submission of the report of the Lagos EndSARS panel that at least nine persons were confirmed dead at the Lekki toll plaza when soldiers stormed the tollgate to disperse EndSARS protesters on October 20, 2020.

Adegboruwa called on Nigerians to hold the government responsible if anything unfortunate happens to himself and other panel members and testifiers.

The Justice Doris Okuwobi-led panel had last Monday submitted its report to the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who subsequently constituted a Committee to bring forward a White Paper within the next two weeks to be considered by the Lagos State Executive Council.

The 309-page report stated, “The atrocious maiming and killing of unarmed, helpless and unresisting protesters while sitting on the floor and waving their Nigerian flags and while singing the National Anthem can be equated to a massacre in context.”

Some lawyers and agents representing the state government including Abiodun Owonikoko, have, however, faulted the report of the panel, noting that the report contained 40 discrepancies.

Adegboruwa, who represented the civil society organisation on the panel, said members of the panel are being unfairly persecuted by some state government officials.

He wrote, “Since the submission of the report of the Lagos #EndSARS Panel, there have been lots of threats and attacks, by those suspected to be agents of the government, upon me, especially in the media. I have not committed any crime beyond joining other eminent Nigerians with unblemished integrity, to accept the nomination of government on behalf of my constituency, the Nigerian Bar Association and the civil society and indeed the masses of our people, for a national assignment. Two prominent lawyers of the government have openly incited opinions against me on national television, with mindless accusations. I have however refused to be intimidated or bend to the tactics of government to be silenced. I urge the good people of Nigeria, my professional colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association, my comrades in the civil rights movement and the people of Nigeria, to hold the government responsible should anything happen to me. Just last night, one of the prominent EndSARS protesters who testified before the Panel, Miss Kamsiyochukwu Ibe, was attacked and dealt serious machete blows, in what was clearly an attempted murder, as reported by her counsel, with very disturbing photos. I heeded the clarion call to serve by the government with the honest belief that the Panel was meant to say the truth and nothing but the truth, which is what we have done. It is left for government and Nigerians to do the needful with the report of the Panel.”

The report was submitted to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Monday after a year of sitting by the panel members.

In the report, it is stated that 11 people were killed at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos by security operatives on October 20, 2020.

However, days after it was submitted, counsel for the Lagos State Government, Abiodun Owonikoko, stated that the report contains at least 40 discrepancies. This is as he questioned the integrity of the panel members.

“The mistake made by the government was not setting up an entirely different panel to look into the Lekki incident because there are some members of the panel that are protagonists in the case against the Police. They were not supposed to be a part of it,” Owonikoko told Arise TV.

Adegboruwa, in a statement personally signed and titled, ‘EndSARS Panel: I Acted On The Mandate Of The Governor,’ said it is uncharitable for the government to be talking about discrepancies.

He urged the state government to focus on the recommendations in the report instead of seeking to demonise panel members or to evade responsibility.

The statement read, “I have listened to the narratives of the Lagos State Government through one of its Learned Senior Counsel at the #EndSARS Panel, to the effect that Nigerians should reject the report of the Panel because I signed it, since I was not present at some of the sittings of the Panel. I served on the Panel on the mandate of the Governor of Lagos State, who told me on telephone that I was chosen to represent CIVIL SOCIETY. I requested for and approval was granted in writing, that my appointment was on a part-time basis. Furthermore, the Governor told me that two members were chosen to represent civil society on the Panel so that one of us would always be present at the Panel to excuse the absence of the other. I accepted the appointment in good faith, to serve the people, to calm frayed nerves at the time and also to restore normalcy to Lagos State. So, at all times, I functioned in partnership with my colleague from civil society, and there was no major sitting of the Panel in which both of us were absent. I also served on the Panel free of charge, from October 19, 2020, when the Panel was inaugurated till November 15, 2021, when the Panel submitted its report. The government was well aware of my identity, my perspectives, my philosophies and my general convictions, at least since my university days, before it nominated me into the Panel, that I will always say things the way they are. All Panel members acted in good faith, independently and in the fear of God Almighty. My principled struggles in respect of toll fee collection started way back from 2011, almost nine years before the Panel was inaugurated. Indeed, the Governor said that these were the factors that favoured my selection as a member of the Panel. Will I then deny myself, forfeit my reputation and discredit my constituency, my colleagues in the Nigerian Bar Association and comrades in civil society, in order to please anybody or cover up the truth? NEVER! It is therefore improper for Lagos State Government, through its lawyer that appeared before the Panel and other sponsored agents, to subject the report of the Panel and indeed the integrity of Panel members to media trials and attacks, all in the bid to build up the contents of its White Paper, which we can now reasonably foretell, from these sponsored media attacks. It is indeed uncharitable for the same government that urged the Panel not to be held down by strict rules of technicalities of law in order to unravel the real truth about the Lekki Toll Gate Incident, to now through its counsel, talk about alleged legal discrepancies, to frustrate the good work of the Panel that it set up. There are documents to back up and defend the report submitted to the Governor by the Panel but I have chosen to defer to His Excellency and to await the White Paper as promised because I believe that the Governor meant well in setting up the Panel and giving us free hand to operate. I appeal to His Excellency to continue in that note of sincerity. There is no minority report from the Panel as the report submitted to the Governor on November 15, 2021, was unanimously endorsed by all members of the Panel, who worked tirelessly, day and night, to serve the government and the people, even at great risks to their health, personal safety, career and family obligations and their general well-being. I’m very sure that Panel members would have been lionized to the highest heavens if we had bought into the narrative of the government before the Panel that it was criminals, cultists, hoodlums and unknown gunmen that operated at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020. I urge the government to focus on the findings and far-reaching recommendations contained in the report, in order to pursue the laudable objectives of setting up the Panel to achieve true healing and reconciliation, instead of seeking to demonise Panel members and their report or to evade responsibility. God bless Nigeria.”

Kari-Ann R’ouke filed a lawsuit against the Commissioner of Police in Lagos, Hakeem Odumosu, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of State Criminal Investigation Department, Panti, Yaba, Adegoke Fayoade over her ‘unlawful and indefinite detention.

The nurse in the lawsuit filed before the federal high court in Lagos through her counsel Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa disclosed that she was arrested on February 9 and has been detained indefinitely over the death of her partner.

Her lawyer, Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa told newsmen that she was released on Wednesday, March 24. He also disclosed that the Directorate of Public Prosecutions (DPP) in their advice said the office shall not prosecute his client for the offences of conspiracy to murder as the medical report attached to the duplicate case file establishes that the cause of the deceased’s death was an acute cardiac failure and hypertensive heart disease.

Adegboruwa said “In the course of time, Kari Ann’s lawyer discovered, upon further investigation, that the case file had been forwarded to the Lagos State Ministry of Justice a long ago and that a legal opinion had been issued by the Director of Public Prosecutions, to the extent that there was no prima facie case worthy of prosecution. In the Legal Advice dated March 5, 2021, and signed by the DPP, it was stated as follows: The medical report attached to the duplicate case file establishes that the cause of the deceased’s death was an acute cardiac failure and hypertensive heart disease.  They should therefore be discharged and released if still in custody, as there is no case to be established against them from the facts presented in the duplicate case file”