The Lagos State judicial panel of inquiry probing the alleged shootings of #EndSARS protesters in the Lekki area of the state on Tuesday rejected the request by the operators of the tollgate, Lekki Concession Company, to take back possession of the facility.
Armed soldiers had on October 20 opened fire on the protesters.
A few of the protesters were reportedly killed while others sustained injuries in the incident.
However, nobody has come forward to give the actual number of #EndSARS protesters killed in the shooting.
The panel’s chairman, Justice Doris Okuwobi (retd), declared in a short ruling that the tollgate would remain closed.
He said panel needed to pay another visit to the tollgate plaza after watching the video footage from a surveillance camera submitted by the LCC on Tuesday to arrive at a definite conclusion on the matter.
Counsel for LCC, Rotimi Seriki, had urged the panel to allow the firm to take possession of the tollgate plaza to evaluate the level of damage before seeking insurance claims.
He said: “My humble request is that if the tribunal doesn’t have further need to visit the plaza, the LCC should be permitted to take back possession of the toll plaza for the purpose of evaluation of the damage and commence the process of carrying out necessary repairs.”
