Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of
Lagos state, says footage has shown that the Nigerian Army is responsible for
the shooting that occurred at Lekki toll gate in Lagos.
On Tuesday, armed men in army
uniform stormed the toll gate where #EndSARS protesters had gathered for 13
days and dispersed them with live bullets.
The incident triggered an
outrage, even in the international community.
The army had denied being responsible
while the federal government said it would investigate the tragic incident.
Speaking with CNN on Monday,
Sanwo-Olu said the CCTV footage would be available to the state judicial panel
probing brutality of security operatives.
“We will be committed to a full
investigation of what happened and people would be held accountable. They
certainly would be held accountable. We would do everything possible to ensure
that they are held accountable,” he said.
“People have claimed that their
friends and family members have been killed. So, this Judicial Panel of Enquiry
is meant to bring all of these stories to accountability; where we can make
restitutions, where families can prove and identify officers that were
responsible for this.
“I am not the Commander-in-Chief
of the Armed Forces; I am Governor of a State. The report would be out and we
would channel the report to all the relevant authorities in the state to ensure
that every one that is found culpable is accountable for the act.”
He also said it is untrue that
pressure from the international community made President Muhammadu Buhari to
speak about the incident.
Buhari had refused to address the
nation when the protests began and when he finally did, he refused to comment
on the Lekki killings.
The governor said he believes
that the #EndSARS campaign yielded positive results.
“There is no international
pressures whatsoever. These are genuine protesters that we all believe and we
all have knowledge about,” he said.
“I was the first governor among
governors with due respect to all my other colleagues who came out to meet with
them, who started from the front. I carried the EndSARS flags with them. I met
with them twice and we all had the rally together and walked together.
“I genuinely believe there would
be change for two reasons. One, what has happened, especially in Lagos is
extremely unimaginable. Number two is that it was a clarion call for all of us
in government, especially understanding and realising what the youths truly
want us to be doing. So, it hit all of us like a thunderbolt and it was just a
wake-up call.”
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