LAGOS State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola, has explained the reason why the state government appealed the acquittal of Major Al Mustapha at the Supreme Court, saying the state places highest premium on human lives.
Fashola, who made the remark at the commemoration of his 2300 days in office held at the Blue Roof of Lagos Television, Ikeja, said the government acted based on the popular agitation of the people.
He said, "The first report is in respect of the verdict of acquittal of Major Al Mustapha for charges of conspiracy and murder by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which has generated some mixed reactions.
"Because our Constitution permits a further appeal to the Supreme Court, and because we place the highest premium on every human life and because the families of the victims deserve every right to agitate the matter to the final court, just as the accused would have been entitled, your government has appealed on behalf of the people to the Supreme Court."
He also disclosed that the government filed 20 different petitions in the Census Tribunal to challenge the figures in the 20 local governments, adding that the petitions were successful in 14 of them where the tribunal made various findings that included the orders for recounts.
He added, "From these findings, it seems fair to conclude that the census returns were manipulated against Lagosians in an act of grave injustice to say the least.
"No nation that wants to prosper and solve human challenges should ever be tardy or play politics with data collection projects such as population census. You cannot manage what you cannot measure," he said.
