#EndSARS: Sanwo-Olu denies giving order for Lekki shooting

Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday insisted that he was not the one who gave the order for the infamous Lekki shooting of October 2020.

POLITICS NIGERIA reports that on the night of October 20, 2020, at about 6:50 p.m., members of the Nigerian Army opened fire on unarmed End SARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos State, killing at least 12 civilians and seriously injuring several others.

A few weeks after the incident, Governor Sanwo-Olu set up a trust fund of N200 million to compensate victims of the shooting and also established a panel of inquiry.

Brigadier-General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo of 81 Division Intelligence Brigade while appearing before the Lagos Judicial Panel in November 2020 alleged that Sanwo-Olu called on the military for support on October 20, after the #EndSARS crisis degenerated into chaos.

But speaking in an interview on Arise Television, monitored by POLITICS NIGERIA, Governor Sanwo-Olu said he does not control either the police or the Nigerian Army.

He said: “Young people, please don’t put things in your head that this is the only way and that’s what has happened. No. just for one second, drop it and play it back.

“It wasn’t a flash incident. It was an incident that has piled up for three weeks.

“I didn’t have control; I don’t control the police. We have been on the conversation. Just to create state police, we have been on it for four years.”

“I went to all the hospitals; I went out at 12 midnight that day, and I saw things for myself, and I reported what I saw 8 o clock the following morning (October 21, 2020). At 10 o clock, things could have changed, but I reported what I saw, and I would not deny what I didn’t see to what people want me to say.

“And I want to speak to the youths, and say that indeed, I am a father, I’m a leader, I’m a man that truly understands the pain that parents bear. The challenge that you have as a young person, I have been in the situation. At 25, I had a small company that crashed at 26. I’ve lost money before, I understand what it is for a young person to be out there, sweating yourself out and not being able to meet up. So, I would be the least person that would mess them (the youths) up.”