Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has said both State and Federal Government would ensure that anyone found culpable in the shooting of peaceful #EndSARS protesters last Tuesday at the Lekki Toll Plaza would be held accountable for their actions.
It would be recalled that security operatives said to be soldiers opened fire on unarmed protesters, who were speaking up against police brutality in the country.
According to Amnesty International, at least 12 people died from the incident while many others sustained varying degrees of injuries.
Speaking during an interview session with a CNN journalist, Becky Anderson on “Connect the World with Becky Anderson programme” on Monday, Sanwo-Olu said CCTV footage from the Lekki tollgate would be available for the State Judicial Panel of Inquiry to review as part of the investigation into the shooting.
He said;
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.
People have claimed that their friends & 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 indentify officers that were responsible for this.
When asked if those involved would be held accountable for their actions, the Governor said;
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.
Governor Sanwo-Olu also debunked the insinuation that international pressure persuaded President Muhammadu Buhari and himself to speak out to protesters demonstrating for so long in Lagos and in Nigeria through the #EndSARS campaign.
Read Also: Lekki Tollgate Shooting: Buhari Breaks Silence, Pledges Justice For Dead #EndSARS Protesters
He declared;
There are no international pressures whatsoever. These are genuine protesters that we all believe and we all have knowledge about. 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.
Sanwo-Olu also expressed confidence that there would be positive change as a result of what has happened in the past couple of days with protests in different parts of Nigeria by the youths.
He noted;
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 realizing 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.
Watch a video excerpt of the interview below;
The Governor of Lagos State has finally admitted that the military carried out the shootings #LekkiMassacre pic.twitter.com/95qS4uNTji
— 📍 (@BabatundeCASH) October 26, 2020
