By Ikechukwu Nnochiri

Senior legal practitioners in the country, on Wednesday, expressed divergent views on the decision of Lagos State Government to forward some recommendations in the EndSARS panel report that was submitted to it, to the Federal Government for implementation.

Lagos state had in a White Paper it issued on Tuesday, maintained that some recommendations contained in report of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that investigated the Lekki toll gate shooting incident, was beyond its powers.

Insisting that it was bereft of the powers to sanction security operatives indicted in the report, the state said it only accepted 11 out of the 32 recommendations made by panel, rejected one and accepted 6 with modifications.

“Fourteen (14) recommendations fall outside the powers of Lagos State Government and will be forwarded to the Federal Government for consideration,” it added, saying it has no control over the internal affairs of the Nigeria Police Force.

However, some legal practitioners had since flayed the position of Lagos State.

Placing reliance on various precedents across many states in the country, human rights Lawyer, Mr. Femi Falana, SAN, contended that state judicial panels, have unquestionable powers to indict military and police officers.

He argued that the military and police personnel indicted for murder and allied offences in Lagos by the Doris Okuwobi Judicial Commission of Inquiry, are ‘’liable to be prosecuted by the Attorney-General of Lagos State as the Attorney-General of the Federation lacks the power to prosecute any person accused of committing state offences.”

Meanwhile, countering Falana’s position on Wednesday, another Senior Advocate of Nigeria, SAN, Mr. Mohammed Abeny, argued that the Lagos state government was right when it stated that it could not sanction the indicted security operatives.

“Lagos can recommend to the Federal Government that some officers were indicted in the report. It is left for FG to sanction them.

“In addition, those who lost relatives can sue the Police or Army. That is not withstanding whatever position FG will take. The report can act as a stimulus for families of the deceased persons to sue Police or Army.

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“On whether there will be sufficient evidence, that is a totally different thing”, he added.

Likewise, a constitutional lawyer and right activist, Mr. Maxwell Opara, said: “Lagos state government is right. They can only recommend and plead with the President to sanction the indicted officers.

“If the state is serious and desirous to do justice, it can sue FG to compel action. It cannot on its own, move against the indicted soldiers or police officers”.

On his part, human rights lawyer, Chief Nkereuwem Akpan, disagreed with Lagos State government, throwing his weight behind Falana.

He said: “I find the position of the Lagos State Government with regards to the recommendations made by the EndSars panel truly disturbing.

“I say so because having set up the panel with the presumption and or assumptions that laws of Lagos State were flouted and that being so, there was the need to find some sort of closure.

“It does appear that the entire thing was a jamboree which was expected to end with a whitewash. I say so because having set up the panel at taxpayers expense and turning around to pick and chose what recommendations to accept and implement is a slap on the good people of Lagos State.

“It must be remembered that the panel exercised judicial functions, which functions must be accepted and implement to the later unless greater public good will occasion its report being varied.

“It is sickening and reprehensible to refuse to indict people who shed blood on Lagos soil on those pedestrian and lame excuses.

“The bulk of the offences for which the panel recommendations cover are offences which the Lagos State Government can prosecute through the Office of the Attorney General of Lagos.

“If a military officers flouts the laws of Lagos State, there is nothing in any law for the time being in force, stopping the Lagos State Government from going ahead with an indictment and prosecution of offenders”, he added.