Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State, on Monday acknowledged that the Nigerian Army ordered the shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate.
The Next Edition had reported that soldiers, on October 20, shot at unarmed #EndSARS protesters demanding an end to police brutality in the country and good governance.
However, the Nigerian Army, in spite of the video evidence denied being involved in the shooting.
The leadership of the army insisted soldiers were never at the scene of the shooting claiming that the videos of the shooting were “photoshopped.”
The National Broadcasting Commission (NBC) also condemned three broadcast stations, Arise News Television, Africa Independent Television and Channels Television for airing the video clip showing soldiers shooting at the protesters and went ahead to impose a N3m fine on each station.
But, in an interview with CNN on Monday, Sanwo-Olu said footage available to him shows that the Nigerian Army ordered the shooting.
He said: “From the footage that we could see, it seems to be that men in military uniform, which should be Nigerians Army ordered the shooting.”
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A statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Gboyega Akosile, on Monday, quoted the governor as saying: “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 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 restitution, 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.”
The Governor expressed confidence that there would be a positive change as a result of what had happened in the past few weeks with protests in different parts of Nigeria by the youths.
“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,” he stated.
