10:15 At the Lagos State #EndSARS Judicial Panel of Enquiry.

It looks like LCC will be cross examined today. I’ve seen the two legal teams of Mr. O and his boys, and the LCC, huddled outside.

I got here on time alright, but registrar and I had a fight about where I should sit. https://twitter.com/editieffiong/status/1330075378543714308

10:29 If you missed Tuesday’s panel report by @SeyitanAtigarin, it’s right here. https://twitter.com/seyitanatigarin/status/1331164012285931522

10:30 Panel is not seated. I saw two of the members scurry in at 10:20, so expecting usual late entrance.

Only thing happening now is the registrar is puttering about under the seats.

10:36 Mr. O & The Gang Just walked in. This is the first ghen(!) of what likely is going to be a ghen ghen day.

10:45 I don’t know what this young lawyer (let’s call him Yung Thug) on Mr. O table thinks I am, but he just walked up and asked me to send photos I took of him.

Tried to tell Yung Thug he could ask nicely, but he wasn’t hearing it. I have suffered.

10:56 Registrar is now chasing a press camera guy from setting up.

Earlier, he’d told me if I want to sit up on the second row, I should wear a suit.

Very protective of the culture, our friend, the registrar.

11:01 The bag isn’t out yet, but the chair’s files are. I hope they aren’t about to breach the order of things.

Give us the bag!!!

11:09 THE BAG IS OUT!!!

11:10 The panel is out.

Ebun Adegboruwa SAN is here today (yay!).

The fashion scales are off the chains today. From Chair to Nintendo, everyone is on their game today.

Will bring y’all fashion shots later. For now, LCC has been called.

11:14 Lawyers introduce - Seriki for LCC, Owonikoko for LASG, Mr. O and his iPad for #EndSARS , Fusika The Champ for #EndSARS .

11:17 LCC MD planned to be examined with his lawyer beside him. Mr. O immediately objects, that MD doesn’t need “comfort”.

Chair agrees. The comfort lawyer is escorted away.

(In previous appearances, LCC MD had that lawyer beside him)

11:20 LCC MD now without his comfort lawyer, is answering about his job history. He is the 6th MD of LCC.

Mr O: When was your company founded?

LCC: Your question is not clear

Mr. O: So you don’t know the history of your company...

LCC: I don’t know when it was founded

11:22 “Who are the directors on the LCC board?”

LCC: They’re appointed by LASG

Mr. O: Eho are they?

LCC: Commissioner of transport...erm, Anthony General (not joking), Commisioners of work...(others)...two independent members...and my humble self

He’s stuttering a lot.

11:24 After mentioning the independent members of the board, LCC MD says he knows where Mr. O is going and offers to help.

Mr. O: Are you a psychic?

Laughter.

11:26 LCC had said days preceding the 20th, all LCC ops were moved away.

Now he says he said “most” operations were moved.

LCC: My Lord, can I, can I restate...there is a misunderstanding here.

11:29 Two fighting. LCC MD is trying to walk back his testimony. Mr. O is not having it.

The issue of whether all LCC staff had moved away is the subject. And he’d said no one was left at the toll gate. It wasn’t true.

11:31 Mr. O: It’s your business to collect money for using the road?

LCC: No. We collect toll.

Mr. O: Toll is not money?

LCC: *Describes what toll is*

Mr. O: So you collect money.

LCC MD says he doesn’t know if LCC is the only company that collects tolls on the Island.

11:33 Are you aware Nigerians have ever protested at your toll gate

LCC: I’m not aware

Mr. O reiterates.

LCC: I am aware.

Mr. O: Did any of those protests exceed 2 days?

LCC: I don’t know.

He doesn’t know a lot, it appears

11:35 Were soldiers invited in any of the previous protests to disrupt protests?

LCC: No.

LCC is asked how LCC knew people at the toll gate were #EndSARS protesters. He says it’s from Twitter, that allegations were made that LCC was planning to bring SARS to arrest protesters.

11:37 “The protesters, when did they leave the toll gate?”

LCC: Waking up on 21st October, I noticed they weren’t there

Mr. O: How did they leave?

LCC: I don’t know

11:38 “were you happy by the loss of revenue?”

LCC: I’m indifferent

Mr. O: Did you lose money?

LCC: *upset* That is private business. I don’t see the relevance.

Chair cautions LCC MD to conduct himself well. His counsel apologised. He’s calm now.

11:41 Mr. O: Did the board meet to discuss #EndSARS ?

LCC: Yes. We adopted a wait and see approach.

Mr. O: Can you afford the panel a record of the conversation/meeting.

LCC: I cannot. It was a phone call.

He’s a little upset again, but he MD.

11:43 LCC MD says LASG bought over LCC 100%, but retained limited liability status.

Who were the owners? ARM is mentioned. And other private owners.

Mr. O: Who are they?

LCC: I don’t have the record here.

11:44 Mr. O: Does LCC pay tax to Lagos State?

LCC: Let me explain. Mr. Chairman please permit me to exp...

Chair looks sternly. He stops.

Mr. O: When was Ikoyi toll set on fire?

LCC: I don’t know. I guess around 8pm.

LCC’s footage has that record.

11:46 Mr. O: So since then, you didn’t inquire from your staff when this happened?

LCC: I am the MD. I have staff. I gathered from my sources it was about 8PM.

Mr. O: How many cameras do you have at the toll gate?

LCC: I don’t know.

Mr. O: 20, 30?

LCC: I don’t know.

11:48 LCC confirms their testimony that equipment were being pilfered pre-20 October. This was intelligence gathered by his staff.

NEPA!!!

Mr. O says he’ll wait for light to return as he wants to see his friend’s face.

11:50 Someone me brings “INEC torchlight” but...UP NEPA!!!

Mr. O: Who was the staff that harvested the equipment from the toll gate?

LCC: I don’t know. I can bring the name later.

Mr. O: How many cameras were removed?

LCC: You keep saying camera. Permit me to lecture you.

11:54 LCC says only one camera was harvested. Then claims 15 were burned.

Mr. O: So now you know the number?

He also says he didn’t know about the governor’s visit?

11:54 Mr. O: Are you aware of the camera that was recovered by a former governor, popularly known as Agent FASH

LCC counsel objects, that the LCC MD doesn’t know as he wasn’t there. But the LCC MD did say he read about the visit.

Mr. O asks if Mr. Fashola can be brought in.

11:57 Mr. O: Are you saying all the cameras were burned?

LCC: That’s not what I said. The rolling cameras were burned. But surveillance cameras were not.

Mr. O: Have you seen a bullet before?

LCC: No. I’m an accountant.

He also says he’s never seen a bullet photo.

12:00 Mr. O is now asking about the head of IT. LCC MD doesn’t seem to know when the camera was purchased. He says he’s not an expert in camera, but he gave testimony on the camera previously.

He confirms the camera does work well for LCC.

12:01 Mr. O is saying LCC MD spoke expertly on the camera earlier, but now doesn’t know. Mr. O asks who installed the camera.

LCC MD: They’re many. I cannot say it. They work in shifts. A name is it not attached to the unit.

He identifies Michael Aina as the head of the unit.

12:04 LCC MD says again that all staff were evacuated, following the curfew declaration. He also says the unit has 40 staff. Oh boy.

LCC: Every time is speak, you smile

Mr. O: Should I cry?

He insists he doesn’t know who was on duty on 20/10/2020.

12:06 Mr. O is trying to say the LCC MD is not an expert, to allow him call other LCC staff in as witness.

This will be fun, as LCC is likely to oppose such a move.

12:08 Mr. O: Where is the control located?

LCC: Toll plaza 2 at Chevron.

LCC MD now says the cameras were not manned.

Mr. O: So the camera on preset?

LCC: *long explanation that doesn’t answer the question*

Mr. O: Who set up the camera

LCC: I don’t want to say one now...

12:11 Mr. O: Can you confirm that someone was controlling the camera as shown in the footage?

LCC MD: I don’t know what you watched sir. Substance over form, that camera works well...

Basically, not answering the question.

Mr. O: That is not my question.

12:12 Mr. O calls back to the issue - the camera was being manned by someone, no?

LCC: No. it wasn’t.

Mr. O asks for the footage to be played again. LCC is back to saying that statistically, analytically, the camera works well.

Again, Mr. O says that’s not his point.

12:14 Mr. O says that from 12:00AM, the camera was working automatically, but someone intervened from 6:30PM

Mr. Fusika is up, asking the footage be played to established that there was manual intervention.

As I expected, LASG is objecting. They don’t want the footage watched.

12:19 LASG had begged for panel to only watch from 4pm for time. They’re now asking panel to disregard any footage before 4PM.

Mr. O is like, “but we watched 12:00 to 4AM”. This is why Mr. O insisted that everything be watched, because weyrey is disguising actively.

12:24 Wow! LASG is actively trying to discard the rest of the LCC footage as irrelevant.

LCC is backing up LASG, denying that Mr. O had said if there’s relevance in the rest of the footage, panel will go back.

So, Mr. O is asking the whole footage be watched. LASG objects.

12:32 LASG is really arguing that none of the footage is relevant to except 4PM - 8PM. He says if more footage is watched, it could corrupt the outcome of panel findings.

Fusika: If things always worked a certain way, then before the shooting, they changed, we should know why

12:34 Mr. O: My Lord, the issue is that before, the thing was doing tololo tololo, now it’s doing tanana tanana, we should know why.

As a result of too much fighting, the panel is taking a break.

12:39 While the panel is on break, the lawyers are seriously at it.

LCC/LASG arm wrestling with Fusika, Mr. O poring over his notes with the gang.

In the meanwhile, Yung Thug came to apologise for being rule. Good on you, Yung Thug.

12:41 By the way, do you all remember this lady? She’s back! I hope she doesn’t laugh too loudly.

12:43 Remember I mentioned how everyone was on top of their fashion game today?

Check out the red bottoms on Mr. Nintendo.

13:04 While we are waiting for the panel to return, Mr. O and Owonikoko are laughing it up as friends.

The LCC and LASG teams are also chatting. Fusika is listening real nice like he won’t shred their witness in a bit. Smh.

13:19 Weirdest thing - turns out ALL the lawyers know me. A joke just broke out as Mr. O and Owonikoko were talking.

OwKK turns and says “Editi, this one is not for tweeting o”. Then everyone turns to me and we are not talking about twitter time stamps.

Me:

13:26 Spare a thought for LCC MD. While the lawyers are laughing away, he’s there like a sacrificial lamb. He knows Mr. O is coming hot for him.

Meanwhile Mr. O and OwKK are back at it, arguing offline about what part of the video evidence should be shown.

13:43 Panel is back.

13:45 Chair delivers short ruling. The terms cover the entire day. So whatever the lawyers agreed doesn’t matter. Mr. O is free to watch whichever point of the video he wants, in the interest of justice.

Yay? Nope. Projector has a problem. So matter will be reviewed later.

13:50 Okpara Felicia has been called. Her case had earlier been adjourned to allow police be present.

Ridwan Oke is representing her.

13:54 Felicia is sworn in (I need a video of the oath. Harsh gan).

On 12/10/2020 She attended an interview in Ojuelegba, Surulere. After her business was done, she tried to get home, saw the protest and joined it.

After a while, she heard gunshots and ran.

13:56 After running towards the police station, she started to make a live video. A man in white walked up and asked her to stop.

She refused to stop, the man tried to snatch her phone, then pointed a gun at her. It was only after she saw a gun, she realised he was a policeman.

14:00 Another policeman in uniform came and dragged her to follow them. She followed as instructed.

The policeman dragged her and one of the other girls standing nearby. While she followed, they were dragging her with force.

14:04 When they crossed, there were countless policemen who started beating her indiscriminately. Punches, slaps, knocks.

While the beating was going on, her phone fell. One of the men smashed the phone because they believed she was recording.

14:05 Felicia is in tears. She was beaten till she peed on herself.

14:07 The beating got worse inside the police station. About 5 police women joined to beat her.

Eventually, one of the police women grabbed the phone out of her hands.

14:10 Without giving us privacy, they took off our clothes and bra. A man was seated there watching.

A man hit her with a mob stick. When the stick broke, he hit her with the muzzle of his gun. Later, he used his boots to hit her abdomen.

14:14 Then they started threatening her, that they were taking her to Panti and Kirikiri and refused her a phone call.

They had her unlock her phone. When they saw the protest photos, she was beaten, before being thrown into a cell. She was scared for her life.

14:19 Felicia says she went to protest was because she was arrested once as a 12 year old for fighting and put her in a cell.

She makes an emotional appeal. She’s an orphan. She wasn’t sure how her daughter would fare if she died.

14:22 Later on, she was taken up to a room when she met Desmond Elliot and some lawyers who had come to release her.

She didn’t know how they knew about her case. She later found it was because a video of her arrest went viral.

At this point, she was bruised all over.

14:25 After she was released, she had to walk on foot back home. On the way, a man sexually harassed her.

She relates her trauma, which caused her sleepless nights. She went to hospital to get herself checked. She was treated for pains and inflammation.

14:27 After the ordeal, she was asked to attend the Orderly Room Trial. The DPO was asked about settlement, she told them she wasn’t interested. But they gave her N200,000 for medical treatment.

She insisted for written note that it wasn’t a settlement. She has evidence.

14:31 The police kept her waiting for hours at the first Orderly Room Trial.

On the second day, some officers were brought, but she insisted ALL the officers involved in the assault be brought.

The officers on trial were the ones asking her questions.

14:33 While the police counsels confer, Ridwan submits the photos showing Felicia’s injuries and the videos from her arrest, as well as the agreement the police signed, into evidence.

The police have asked for copies - no objection.

14:36 Apparently the LASG/LCC table are all reading my tweets as proceedings are going on.

Me:

14:44 The counsel has asked to adjourn because the arrest video can’t be watched in Panel due the the projector issues, but police counsel is asking to proceed with cross examination without finishing the evidence viewing.

Chair says nope and adjourns.

14:40 Mrs. Openiyi Olusegun has been called. She’s joined by her father.

However, the projector is working now, so chair is asking to continue the previous case.

14:51 Mistake in last tweet time. It’s 14:50, not 14:51.

14:54 The projector isn’t working, unfortunately.

LCC has asked to adjourn for a business trip abroad.

Mr. O objects. He says the case is of international interest. And we don’t even know where he is going.

He says given 45 minutes tomorrow, he’ll be done with his roasting.

14:59 Citing Covid protocols, LCC Counsel insists to adjourn, that it’s an official trip.

Where is he going? Counsel says “official trip”.

Mr. O: Over the bar.

Mr. O again: This is a matter of overriding public interest. The toll gate he manages, has it not been burnt? Ah ah

15:03 A new projector had been brought out. Depending if it works, LCC MD still might get to face Mr. O after all.

15:08 LCC MD has been leave to travel. Matter adjourned to 11th of December.

People aren’t happy.

But LCC MD...man couldn’t wait to get away from that stand.

15:14 Tolulope Openiyi from Ikorodu is called back in. Represented by Mr. Adefila.

Adefila: Where is your husband?

Tolu: He’s late.

15:16 Speaking about her two children, she breaks down.

Her husband works at Airtel. The last day she saw her husband, he was going to work at Unilag. That is where the telco base is.

On his return, the police shot his car tyres, opened his door and shot him at close range.

15:20 Realising he was an innocent man, police took him to the military hospital, where he died. So they took him to Lasuth.

Police reported his body as unknown at Lasuth. Autopsy on 23/08/2007 says he died of gunshot

15:21 The alleged offending officer is named as Jide Akintola (force number 32405), DPO Samuel Olukayode.

She says Jide Akintola was arrested, but released after a while. Nothing else was done.

15:23 Tolulope cries every time she talks about her children. She says she has cried everyday since her gun and died.

She’s currently facing a quit notice to move out of her rented home. She has less than 7 days to move.

She has nowhere to go.

15:27 Recalling how good a husband she had, she breaks down again.

Her kids are out of school because she can no longer afford fees.

15:30 The press reports of her husband’s killing, as well as hospital and autopsy reports have been presented to the panel.

Documents have been admitted into evidence without objections.

15:44 It took a long time to release the Mr. Openiyi’s body from the mortuary.

Tolulope is in tears again because she’s talking about her children. She has suffered. She is here because of her children.

15:48 The man that shot him (her husband) is still living his life among the living. She wants compensation for her children.

She says her husband took care of his own parents and her mother. Her father-in-law and mother-in-law are here.

She wants help for them.

15:49 Police counsel is up. He says he sympathises, but the law is not sentimental.

He asks if the woman stands by her petition. I suspect there’s something wrong with her petition.

Her lawyer speaks up, says there’s a typo on the petition. He asks leave to correct.

15:53 Chair asks if police counsel is opposed to the typo being amended. He starts cross examination, but is called back that he’s just being asked whether he opposes the edits.

He says nope. No opposition.

Why are you rushing sah?

15:55 Police counsel, Cyril Ejiofor, asks if the husband was in official duty when he died, and asks what Econet position was.

He also says the military have a base in the area Mr Openiyi was killed, and they carry rifles too.

Now asking if she has ballistic report.

16:00 Ejiofor also establishes that neither Tolulope nor her father-in-law was on the scene or the shooting.

He asks if she wrote petitions to the IG or Commissioner. She says her father in law is in best position to answer. She was a nursing mother the.

16:04 Ejiofor: So you were informed like any other person that your husband was killed by the police. How would you feel if I told you your husband wasn’t killed by a police officers

Tolulope: That is a lie.

Ejiofor says there is no evidence that police. Tolulope says he was.

16:06 Ejiofor says the reason police didn’t visit Tolulope is because the police isn’t responsible.

Tolulope says the Sabo Police Station can attest.

Ejiofor tries to intimidate her, she says “Calm down sir”. He’s now saying lying under oath is a felony. She’s undeterred.

16:08 Ejiofor asks if the family took any legal action against the police. She says her father-in-law will answer.

Father-in-law is here with more papers to be sworn in. I have never seen anyone swear in so enthusiastically.

16:11 He says his name is Michael Openiyi. He was a soldier, now a preacher at Celestial Church of God.

He speaks very strongly. Spells everything out twice if he isn’t heard. He had his son in the same Army hospital where he died.

16:14 He’s asked to clarify the date of the incident. He’s does so, states the incident was 19th, but informed on 20th.

He says police reportedly killed his son. He’s upset. Asked if he wants a break, he says “Let me talk”.

He says the DPO of Sabo sent for him, a 2-star officer

16:17 The DPO told him he is son was killed and directed him to go to Lasuth for the body.

He asked to see the person who killed his son. The officer, Jide Akintola was brought from a cell.

After meeting the officer, he asked for a Bible and prayed that God will bring judgement

16:20 When he arrived the morgue, he was told they don’t have Olusegun Openiyi, but Sabo Police had brought and unknown person.

He asked to see the body, and it was his son. He was buried after a post mortem, which confirmed he died from gunshot wounds.

16:22 Mr. Openiyi says he wrote the IG of police and commissioner. He never got a response. But thankful to God this chance is here now.

“Is this how innocent citizens will be killed? When it’s the son of a poor man, nothing is done...you don’t know the God I serve”

16:25 Mr. Openiyi says he’s 71 years old. He produces his dentures to show the panel.

He keeps saying his God will deliver judgement.

16:26 Mr. Openiyi says he took the case to Festus Keyamo, but the case was dropped because he had no money.

“Wonderful”, he sighs.

16:30 “I am here to answer your questions”, Mr. Openiyi says, showing photos of the car the police reportedly shot up.

He wants justice to be done. But he also wants the family to be compensated for losing their breadwinner.

“My son was responsible. Look at him. His wife would not be in this position if he was alive”.

16:33 Police counsel says the DPO was not a two-star officer. Mr Openiyi says two-star or not, he was the DPO.

Ejiofor is very combative. He says says Jide Akintola don’t confess. Openiyi says the DPO brought the officer from the cell to say he’s the one.

16:35 Mr. Openiyi isn’t having anyone’s nonsense in this panel.

16:37 Ejiofor is really trying to say there’s no way to know if the gun was police or someone else.

Mr. Openiyi isn’t having it.

16:39 Ejiofor says that at this time, there’s no legal case against the police over this killing.

Mr. Openiyi says he went to Festus Keyamo, but couldn’t proceed because he had no money. The letter he wrote to IG was personally written by him because he couldn’t afford a lawyer.

16:42 Ejiofor says there’s a military base in the area, that it could have been the army.

Mr. Openiyi: No, Jide shot my son. God will give me justice.

Ejiofor: IG didn’t act because police didn’t kill your son.

Mr. Openiyi: DPO confirmed. Jide killed my son.

Police rest.

16:45 Panel adjourns case till 8th December. Mr. Openiyi returns to seat.

LASG asks to get copies of all cases against the police and are asked to apply.

Panel rests for the day.