End SARS: Lagos releases schedule of on-going criminal prosecution of police officers

The Lagos State Government has released a schedule of some cases to be heard in the criminal prosecution of police officers for offenses related to violation of human rights in the state.

The schedule was released by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, via his official Twitter handle. He tweeted a screenshot of the schedule with the caption, “Today seems like a good day to get on to the work of rebuilding Lagos and ending police brutality. To show our commitment to the latter, here is a list of ongoing prosecution of police officers for offenses related to the violation of human rights in Lagos.”

Backstory

Following the nationwide protests tagged #EndSARS which was targeted at addressing police brutality, especially crimes allegedly committed by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad unit of the Police, the Governor had promised to set a judicial panel of inquiry to prosecute the officers of crimes related to and including extortion,
armed robbery, abduction, torture, and murder.

It should be noted that the establishment of the judicial panel is one of the 5 – of -5 demands made by the #EndSARS movement, for justice to be achieved for victims of SARS atrocious crimes.

What they are saying

Commenting on the latest development, the Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice for Lagos state, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo (SAN) said, “I wish to inform members of the public that the Lagos State Ministry of Justice has been committed over time to the prosecution of the listed related cases of police abuses.

“I call on members of the public to keep track of our ongoing diligent prosecution of these matters in the overall public interest.”

Why it matters

The latest action by the Lagos State Government is a welcome development as it is a major boost in finding a lasting solution. This will serve as a deterrent to other erring officers and give justice to the victims.

Some of the listed cases are as follows:

1. State of Lagos v. 1) Insp. Surulere Irede 2) Sgt. Sunday Ogunyemi 3) Corp. Hezekiah Babatunde – Manslaughter. Adjourned to 13/11/2020. Justice Ogunsanya

2. The State of Lagos v. Ogunyemi Olalekan – Murder. Adjourned to 5/11/2020. Hon Justice Coker.

3. State of Lagos v. Sgt. Gbanwuan Isaac – Grievous Bodily Harm. Set for arraignment. Justice Sholadoye.

4. State of Lagos v. Aminu Joseph – Murder. Adjournment date to be announced. Hon Justice Nicole Clay.

5. State of Lagos v. Sgt. Alechenu Benedict – Armed Robbery. Arraigned. Hon Justice Coker.

6. State of Lagos v. Sgt. Adebayo Abdullah – Involuntary Manslaughter. Adjourned to 28/11/2020. Hon Justice Coker.

7. State of Lagos v. Insp. A Mohammed and 2 ORS – Armed Robbery. Adjourned to 10/11/2020. Hon Justice Sonaike.

8. State of Lagos v. Matthew Ohansi – Murder. Adjourned to 19/11/2020

9. State of Lagos v. 1) Sgt. Segun Okun 2) Capt. Adekunle Oluwarotimi – Manslaughter and Attempted Murder. Last adjournment date 15/7/2020, Court to give the next date. Hon Justice Nicole Clay.

10. State of Lagos v. Adamu Dare – Murder. Last adjournment date 29/09/2020, Court to give the next date. Hon Justice Nicole Clay.

11. State of Lagos v. Sgt. Mark Argo and 5 ORS – Conspiracy and Armed Robbery. Next adjournment date 18/11/2020. Hon Justice Nicole Clay.

12. State of Lagos v. Corp. Pepple Boma – Manslaughter. Court to give the next date. Hon Justice Nicole Clay.

13. State of Lagos v. Insp. Emmanuel Akpobana – Attempted Murder. Court to give a ruling date. Hon Justice Balogun.

14. State of Lagos v. Emmanuel Uyankweke – Involuntary Manslaughter. The case part held. Hon Justice Akintoye.

15. State of Lagos v. Akanbi Lukmon – Involuntary Manslaughter. Information filed.

16. State of Lagos v. Edokhe Omokhide – Murder. Adjourned to 12/11/2020. Hon Justice Akinkigbe

17. State of Lagos v. Afolabi Saka – Murder. Newly filed.

18. State of Lagos v. Monday Gabriel – Murder. Newly filed.

19. State of Lagos v. Yahya Adeshina. Involuntary Manslaughter. Ready for filing.

20. State of Lagos v. Aremu Museliu – Murder. Ready for arraignment. Hon Justice Shonaike.

Good morning Lagos,

Today seems like a good day to get on to the work of rebuilding Lagos and ending police brutality.

To show our commitment to the latter, here is a list of ongoing prosecution of police officers for offences related to the violation of human rights in Lagos. pic.twitter.com/dbXdBL0WYZ

— Babajide Sanwo-Olu (@jidesanwoolu) October 23, 2020