Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the use of
brute force to quell protests at the Lekki tollgate. He added that it was
obvious that the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), and his
lieutenants didn’t exhaust all avenues before deploying soldiers.
Obasanjo said this in a statement titled, ‘Statement on
Violence Against Protesters In Nigeria: An Appeal for Calm’.
The former President called on Buhari to “restrain the
military and other security agencies from using brute force as a way of ending
the crisis.”
He said history had shown that killing protesters only
worsens the crisis and makes dialogue impossible.
The former President said, “The shooting and murder of
unarmed protesters, no matter the level of provocation, has never been
effective in suppressing public anger and frustration. Instead, such actions
only reinforce the anger and frustration of the populace and close the window
of dialogue and peaceful resolution.
“It is clear that Mr President and his lieutenants did not
exhaust the opportunities for dialogue with the protesters before resorting to
the use of force.”
Obasanjo said it was worse that despite overwhelming
evidence, the authorities were still denying ever killing protesters.
He therefore called on the President to take swift action
before things spiral out of control.
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