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President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed optimism that the Judicial Investigative Panel established by the Lagos state government will help the nation bring justice to the peaceful protesters who lost their lives.
In a statement from his senior special assistant in media and publicity, Malam Garba Shehu, in Abuja on Sunday, Buhari also expressed hope that the security men who were killed and the property owners whose property was vandalized and looted will be treated fairly and equitable.
The judicial inquiry panel established by the Lagos state government to investigate the remote and immediate causes, as well as the aftermath of the ENDSARS protests, in particular the Lekki Toll Gate incident, would begin meeting in Lagos on Monday.
The president, who said he had all along avoided getting into a debate about the Lekki Toll Gate incidents until all the facts were established, called on people across the country to maintain peace and brotherhood.
He said the call was made necessary as the machinery of government and the wheel of justice had turned against the perpetrators of murders, arson, theft, rape, assault and malicious damage to public and private property.
The president said that “peace, brotherhood and harmony between communities are fundamental to our spirit.”
He urged Nigerians “not to turn against each other with hatred” and stressed the urgent need for police and other security agencies to move everywhere to restore calm and normalcy as soon as possible.
According to him, his administration is working hard through many pragmatic ways to reduce the hardships of the millions of unemployed, poor citizens, and those whose lives have been ruined by the harsh economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
However, he warned that resorting to widespread attacks and organized looting and looting of public and private property in many states was contrary to the public good and was doomed.
He said: “A government that has launched a massive crackdown on corruption, has enacted tough laws for a decisive battle against corruption, pursues the recovery of loot at home and abroad, and has made firm decisions against those who thought they were up for it. above the law, it won’t. he folds his arms when an otherwise legitimate and peaceful protest is turning into boundless vandalism and looting.
“While the administration, for its part, has blocked so many means of looting public money in a war against corruption, it is the expectation that all civil authorities, community and religious leaders in the country must rise up against organized looting and looting. that we are witnessing in parts of the country.
“Families should return unaccounted goods to children they bring home, in the same way that wives should ask their husbands to return stolen items they bring home.
“What’s more, the criminal actions we have witnessed so far can weaken and erode the confidence of our people and that of foreign companies in investing in the economy.
”Looting and vandalism will affect the growth of trade and investment in our country, both in large and small industries, as well as our working people in the informal sectors of the economy.
“These incidents are not well reflected in any society. They are wrong and they are reprehensible and should not be supported by reasonable members of society. “
In line with this, Buhari praised the decision of the Lagos State Justice Ministry to prosecute 229 suspects arrested by the police for allegedly using the #EndSARS protest to destroy and loot public and private property.
The president, who reiterated that his administration had taken note of the people’s grievances, said again: “We have heard it loud and clear.”
He said that the Federal Government had already shown a clear determination to take all the necessary measures to deal with the complaints, adding that the violence must stop.
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