The Management of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) on Friday told the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry for Restitution for Victims of SARS and Related Abuses and Other Matters that the footage of the October 20 shootings of the End SARS protesters by the Nigerian Army was available.
The Head of the Legal Department of LCC, Mr Gbolahan Agboluwaje, made the revelation after Mr Abayomi Omomuwa, the Managing Director of LCC had been sworn-in to give evidence before the panel.
Agboluwaje explained that the LCC received a summons from the panel on Wednesday to appear before it and was also ordered to present the October 20 footage, an investigation report and any other document.
“We have the footage. We don’t have an investigation report because we know that investigations are ongoing, and we haven’t been able to provide any document,” Agboluwaje said.
“We had a very short notice, and we brought what we were able to lay our hands on.”
Agboluwaje also told the panel that due to the short notice of the summoning, the Managing Director (MD) of LCC, Mr Omomuwa, wouldn’t be able to testify because the company was yet to hire an external counsel to represent the MD.
Responding, Justice Doris Okuwobi (Rtd), the Chairman of the nine-man panel, granted Agboluwaje’shands-on request for a short adjournment.
Justice Okuwobi noted that the programme of the day for the panel was to visit the locus (scene of the Lekki Shooting) and to have proceedings based on their findings from the visit.
She said, “We were initially to take note of what we see at the locus and today’s proceedings were to be subsequent to what we see there.
“The panel will arise very shortly to visit the locus. The panel noted that it’s required of the witness to have a counsel of his choice. We’ll not take the proceedings of the visit to the locus until then.”
NAN reports that as at the time of filing this report, the panel had briefly risen to visit and inspect the Lekki Toll Plaza, the scene of the October 20 shooting.
The panel is also expected to reconvene to hear other petitions after its return from the visit to the toll gate.