Adesina Ogundana, counsel to EndSARS protesters at the panel of inquiry, said that the Lagos State government is under trial now, stressing that the report has been presented and the report is known by people.
He pointed out that the government should have the courage to stand up by the recommendations and trust its own panel.
Ogundana on Arise Television on Wednesday said that by the antecedents of government in Nigeria, what they tend to do is to play politics with recommendations, but said that since Lagos State prides itself to be the centre of excellence, and the panel has done very well and lived up to its name.
He maintained that it is left for the government to decide whether it can abide by the recommendations of the panel it set up, especially when it had representatives at that panel.
He said, “Lagos State government was represented by the lawyers of their choice, what else will they ask for? It depends now on whether they have the necessary integrity to respect the recommendations of the panel.
“The panel has conducted itself quite honourably, they were meticulous, painstaking, and worked hard.
They gave everyone a chance to present or prosecute his or her case. What I thought was remaining for the panel to have the courage to present its findings and mercifully that was done on Monday,” he said.
The lawyer said that some people said that the report was surprising and unexpected.
“In a way, they are right but for those of us who participated in the proceedings of the panel, quite extensively, we cannot be shocked.
It is now in the court of the government that sets it up by regular law that protects the establishment, when you set up a panel of inquiry, the recommendations will be presented to the government, or whoever that sets it up, that is the convening authority; it is left for the convening authority to make use of it.
Meanwhile Femi Okunnu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria and former federal commissioner, has warned the government not to tamper with the report of the panel but to publish it and make the white paper available for the public at little or no cost.
