A member of the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Police Brutality, Rinu Oduala, has said she is stepping down from the panel.
Ms Oduala, a member of the panel representing the youth, said she was taking the decision because of the government’s insincerity.
Her resignation statement read in part “Let me be clear: I chose to honour the invitation to represent my peers and to stand as an example that any Nigerian has the right to demand accountability of elected government officials and that our institutions, however flawed, can still deliver justice”
“Let’s stay the course of justice, partial wins are not enough. After going silent for a month, troll accounts dedicated to disparaging my work and sowing doubt about my age, occupation and right to express myself as a citizen of Nigeria were reactivated”
“Their task was simple: target me by releasing fake tweets and turn the public against me”
“My stand on the reopening on the toll gate remains clear; the state government and the private organisation which operates the toll have not been cleared of collusion with elements allegedly deployed by the federal government to target Nigerian citizens on home soil during a time of peace, without provocation”
“Justice has not been served, and as a representative of the Nigerian citizenry, my only recourse is to stay the course of justice” she said
“What I will not do is be part of a cover-up. I am proud that I took the invitation because some of the successes the panel has recorded so far have been incredibly powerful for the people”
“For the first time, SARS victims have had the opportunity to be truly seen and heard by the government, by the public, and by the system that allowed them to be victims in the first place”
“We must not forget the purpose of this panel: to address injustice and create accountability for the SARS brutality and for the heinous events on 20th October 2020. When calls for justice are subsumed by commercial concerns and vested interests, it calls into question the legitimacy and integrity of the entire affair and the impartiality of the proceedings. Without a final panel report or actionable steps, we are returning to the status quo”
