Criminal proceedings may be initiated against any person found culpable in the reports of #ENDSARS Judicial Panels of Inquiry (JPI) and the government White Papers, the Federal Government hinted yesterday.
Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Abubakar Malami, who dropped the hint in an interview on a Channels Television programme “Politics Today”, assured that the White Paper on the Lagos #EndSARS panel report will be reviewed by the federal government as soon those recommendations were brought before it.
Out of the 32 recommendations made by the Lagos JPI in its report of November 15, Lagos State the government accepted 11, rejected one and accepted six with modifications.
The White Paper advised the Lagos State Government to forward 14 of the JPI recommendations that fall outside its jurisdiction to the federal government for action.
According Malami (SAN), the government was waiting for the said recommendations meant for it, saying the federal government would not hesitate to critically examine those recommendations and initiate criminal proceedings where necessary.
He said: “We cannot rule out any possibility, because there may be need for criminal investigation on the matter and possibly prosecution.
“The report in its own right cannot form a conclusion. So, there’s still the need to look more critically into the report to determine whether there will be criminal proceedings from the findings.”
He said that with the White Paper, it has now been established that some of the things that were said to have happened at the Lekki Toll Gate did not actually happen.
The minister added that the federal government ordered the deployment of soldiers and security forces as a measure to protect lives and properties of the citizenry.
He noted that till date, it could not be established whether live ammunitions were used on October 20, 2020 at Lekki Toll Gate.
“We can’t conclude that live ammunitions were used on October 20, 2020,” the chief law officer said.
Malami said the government will always engage in continuous reforms of its policies including security matters, to meet the present realities that will be beneficial to the public.
He said: “Change and perhaps, reforms are dynamic and not static. We had some in 2020, but we’ve always been guided by what’s unfolding in the country.
“As far as reforms are concerned, we will always do the needful to always meet present realities, though our reforms won’t be driven by ENDSARS agitations.”
The mister also said that judging from the Abuja court order obtained last Thursday by the government, all bandits are terrorists, adding that the process to gazette the order was ongoing.
The process to gazettee the order was a mere formality, he explained.
Malami said: “We’ve obtained an order in that regard and the process to get it gazette will be concluded soonest.”
He vowed that, going forward, terrorists will be ruthlessly and decisively dealt with.
On the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) leader, Nnamdi Kanu, who is standing trial, the minister said the case could be handled politically.
“As far as I know, Nnamdi Kanu has not been convicted, though he’s still standing trial till today. However, we cannot rule out any possibility when we get there, through political solution is not on the table right now,” Malami said.
