VIDEO: Soldiers stop Lekki shooting judicial panel from entering the military hospital in Lagos

Members of the Lagos State judicial panel of inquiry on SARS abuses and Lekki toll gate shootings were on Friday denied access to the military hospital in Ikoyi.

The panel was on an inspection tour of some locations identified to be relevant to their task but was denied access to the military hospital upon arrival.

The panel is investigating cases of police brutality and the Lekki toll gate shooting of October 20, 2020, and was understood to have visited the hospital to inspect the mortuary.

Earlier on Friday, the panel had discovered some bullet shells during their inspection visit to the Lekki toll gate plaza itself.

The panel, unannounced, on Friday went to the hospital on investigation into the shooting at Lekki tollgate where 15 protesters were reportedly killed.

Some witnesses of the Lekki shooting accused the military of taking away the bodies of those killed in the incident.

The panel met resistance as it got to the gate of the hospital.

Ebun Adegboruwa, a member of the panel, told the soldiers, who stopped them at the gate that the panel came to the hospital because it had intelligence that might help with its investigation.

“The facility is relevant to our investigation. We have a pathologist. We are here on the authority of the president, not only the governor,” he said.

“We are following dues process, and it is important we visit the mortuary as it will help our findings.

“If we are not allowed access, we will go back and take other actions. We won’t force ourselves in. We have confidential information that the military hospital here is relevant in the investigation of the Lekki event. We heard this hospital is controlled by 65 battalion, and under the 81 division. We are also taking steps to reach military authorities.”

Adegboruwa said though the panel does not have evidence that there are bodies of those killed at the tollgate in the hospital, it was at the facility to verify the claim that they were.

He also said the panel will continue its work until it gets to the truth of the matter.

Journalists were asked to leave the hospital premises, and one of the soldiers threatened that “things will get dirty” if they refused.

Despite the presence of Doris Okuwobi, a retired justice and chairperson of the panel who arrived minutes later, the military did not allow the panel access to its facility.

Olaniyi Osoba, spokesperson of army’s 81 division in Lagos, was not immediately available for comment over the matter.

Earlier, the panel visited the tollgate where Yomi Omomuwansa, managing director of Lekki Concession Company (LCC), took the panel on a tour of the facility.

Newsflash Nigeria is an online newspaper that is developed and written exclusively for Nigerians. It’s packed with up-to-the-minute Local and National Economy News, Share & Capital Market, Health, Sports, Education, Technology, Business and Opinions.

To make further advert enquiries or place an order, please contact us at [email protected] and +2348053316946 and WhatsApp number 08033546732