The Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters, on Tuesday, accused some men of the press of “disorderly conduct” during hearing of petitions.
The panel also denied that there was a “media blackout” at the hearing.
However, it said that it had to explain to everyone that the same principle that applied during court proceedings is also applicable at the panel.
“Contrary to the attempt of certain mischievous elements spreading disinformation about the sanitization of the judicial panel of inquiry’s hearing process, which has been hitherto disturbed by ringtones and disorderly conduct of some individuals covering the hearings, we feel the urge to restate that the hearings follow court process and there must be order.
“This was explained to the press and most of them understood the need for decorum as you can see from the pictorial evidence. There is no media blackout as rumored,” it tweeted on Tuesday.
It further floated a picture capturing where designated instructions were laid out for those attending the hearings.
“These pictures were taken by an observer and it clearly marked areas where phones are not allowed for those willing to cover the process with their devices. This is to avoid distractions. The caveats were written in English for easy digestion followed by explanations,” it tweeted.
Recall that the federal government had directed state governors to establish a panel of inquiry that would probe the issues associated with human rights violations by security personnel, occasioned by the EndSARS protests.
This is taking place across many states of the federation.
