A social media user, Princess Banke Oniru, has alleged that some coordinators of the protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) of the Nigeria Police Force shared millions of naira among themselves.
Nigerians gained global attention when they took to the streets across the country in late 2020 to protest the disbandment of SARS, which was accused of extrajudicial killings, extortion, and torture.
During the protest’s twilight in October 2020, unarmed protesters waving Nigerian flags were allegedly killed after soldiers and police invaded the Lekki Tollgate, the main convergence point of the protest in Lagos State.
There have been controversies surrounding the funds generated for the protest, with the Feminist Coalition (FEMCO) facing public scrutiny over the group’s alleged inability to properly account for the funds received. Some details have emerged about how funds from the government were allegedly shared by acclaimed coordinators of the protest.
Taking to her social media account on Sunday, Oniru explained that while the initial funds offered by the Lagos State Government were rejected, coordinators later shared several millions of money from the government.
She claimed she initially refused the largesse but later asked her assistant to pick it up from a popular social commentator, Sarah Ibrahim, and she (Oniru) shared the money accrued to her as giveaways.
Oniru, with tweets from the handle @HRH_bankeoniru, wrote, “Following the EndSARS unrest, and during the panel of inquiry, the Lagos State Government’s initial funding offer was met with resistance.
“@sarahibrahim and associates then consulted Mr. Femi Falana regarding the substantial sum proposed for advisory purposes. Despite Mr. Falana’s counsel to accept the funds as a gift, I deemed it incongruous to accept financial compensation from those we were opposing, fearing it may undermine our integrity.
“The first funds Sarah called me to pick up was N1.5m. The second was N1m. I have proofs. Messages to back it up. The #endsars coordinators shared millions of money severally. Going back and forth to pick a Ghana must-go filled with cash at Alausa Ikeja.
“On two separate occasions, I entrusted my personal assistant to collect money from Sarah, ensuring she took photographs for evidentiary purposes. Afterward, I shared images of the funds received on EndSARS United and Competent Nigerians platforms for public dissemination as giveaways. Adeshina Ademola Ogunlana of blessed memories was the only lawyer that stood genuinely for the EndSARS. He can never be bought.”
‘Lagos offered N100 million’
But countering the claim, Ibrahim explained that Oniru displayed “severe ingenuity” in her allegations. He added that although the Lagos State Government offered N100 million, she never accepted the offer.
In a lengthy post on X, Ibrahim tweeted from @TheSerahIbrahim that, after consulting her lawyers, Oniru asked the government to use the funds to support the families of the Lekki Toll Gate victims and those who were injured.
She wrote, “So yes, I was approached by the Lagos State Government to offer N100 million, a meeting they had been trying to arrange for months. I attended one of the meetings after speaking with my lawyer Fusika SAN, who then took me to consult jointly with Falana SAN on what to do. At one meeting, I attended with @akintollgate, where one of Sanwo Olu’s commissioners apologized for what happened at the Toll Gate and wanted to make amends.
“He spoke like a father, was nice and very understanding, and wanted us to make peace with the government and move on. Truthfully, his words calmed me. After all was said and blame passed back and forth, he stated that there was a financial offer to cover all we must have spent and gone through during the period, an amount of N100 million. Immediately, I refused; I didn’t want to involve myself with it. I only requested that prosthetics be provided for those who were amputated so that we could help them move around.”
Upon rejecting the monetary offer, Oniru claimed that she started receiving calls from families of victims, prompting her to change her stance.
“Afterwards, I started getting calls from the victims, and I was upset. I went to the lawyers and told them what was happening. The government informed me that the money was in cash and was to be given to me, that I should come and pick it up and do with it as I wished. Speaking to Falana SAN, he then said if the government is remorseful and wants to finally help those they shot and killed at the toll gate, I should not block it but allow it to happen.
“I told Falana SAN that I personally did not want anything to do with the money, and I did not want to go pick it up as the government wanted. He immediately wrote a letter for me and told me to give it to the commissioner, stating that the government should do it the right way. The government stated that the money was in two tranches of N50 million each, and so there were two letters, one stating N50 million and another stating the total of N100 million.
“I insisted that the government should give out compensations as instructed by the panel, rather than this ‘backyard assistance’ like my dad called it.”
Meanwhile, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s spokesman, Gboyega Akosile, was yet to respond to a WhatsApp message on Monday morning seeking the government’s reaction to the alleged funds paid to victims’ families and protest coordinators.
