By our reporter/ President Muhammadu Buhari on Thursday reacted to the report of the panel the Lagos State government set up to probe police brutality.
Following the violence that broke out during the protest which held for weeks at Lekki tollgate in Lagos, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu had set up a panel to look into issues that happened.
According to a leaked report of the panel, soldiers and police were indicted for killing innocent protesters.
Human rights activists, government critics, the international community are among those who have asked the Nigerian government to act on the report of the panel.
But according to a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, President Buhari was quoted to have said in a meeting with visiting US secretary of state, Anthony Blinken that he will await the steps taken by governors, before the federal government takes action on the reports of the judicial panels of enquiry set up by states.
“So many state governments are involved, and have given different terms of reference to the probe panels,” Femi Adesina, presidential spokesman, quoted Buhari to have said.
“We at the Federal have to wait for the steps taken by the states, and we have to allow the system to work. We can’t impose ideas on them. Federal Government has to wait for the reaction of the states.”
According to the statement, the US secretary of state earlier described the report of the #EndSARS probe panel as “democracy in action”, and said he looks forward to necessary reforms within security agencies.
The President while responding to the removal of Nigeria from countries violating religious freedom by the US government, said his administration remains committed to freedom of worship, adding that “no one is discriminated against on the basis of his or her faith”.
He also expressed his appreciation to the US for its support in the sale of military weapons to Nigeria to fight insecurity.
“It’s helping us to stabilise the situation in the north-east, and we’ve made a lot of progress since 2015,” Buhari was quoted to have said.
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