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Over two years after soldiers opened fire on peaceful protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has explained the role he played during the #EndSARS crisis and the lessons he learnt from the shooting incident that followed it.
In October 2020, young Nigerians across the country protested against police brutality and bad governance using #EndSARS to drive their campaign.
In Lagos, the youths gathered at the Lekki toll gate to demand an end to the operations of SARS, a police unit notorious for extrajudicial killing and human rights abuse.
The protest reached its peak when soldiers, who were reportedly deployed to the protest ground on the evening of Tuesday, October 20, 2020, to disperse the protesting youths, opened fire on them.
The shooting incident consequently ignited riots across the state as government properties were vandalised and burnt.
Since the incident happened, the youths’ question about who ordered the shooting has remained unanswered.
However, three days before the March 11 governorship election, the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu during an interview on Arise TV explained the role he played during the crisis.
Answering a question on what lessons he learnt from the incident, Sanwo-Olu said he did not have any control over the soldiers that were deployed to the protest ground on the night.
The governor urged the youths to drop the question about "who ordered the shooting?" and put themselves in his situation.
“Young people do not do roleplay and sit back to reflect on what happened. It was not a flash event. It built up for three weeks. I do not have control. I do not control the military or the police,” the governor said
“On the question of who ordered the [Lekki shooting], who ordered the police not to listen to me when I went to Magodo the other day? Who ordered the military out for our election last Saturday? It is not in my remit or space.
But if just drop it for one second and do a role play and ask, what were my own action before during and after. I went out that night. I went to all the hospitals that we could have patients, I went out at 12 midnight and I saw things for myself and I reported what I saw.
The governor also said he has reached out to all #EndSARS victims in Lagos and also supported them with jobs.
“All of the people — and I am saying this for the first time on national TV — that claimed that they were either injured or affected in one form or the other, I, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have reached out to them and supported, given them jobs and empowerment and things for them to start right.
“And that is why you do not see anybody come out during this campaign period to say ‘I was an #EndSars victim and I lost something,’ because I have taken it up and I feel that is something for me as a father and a leader to do for them, and clear this air around it,” he said.
The forthcoming governorship election holds on Saturday, March 11, 2023, when Sanwo-Olu would again test his popularity and slug it out with Abdul-Azeez Adediran of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour of the Labour Party and other governorship candidates in the state.