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The Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has disclosed on Monday that the CCTV camera footage from the Lekki toll gate showed that men in military uniforms were present at the scene of the shooting of unarmed protesters, the Whistler reports.
Appearing on a CNN programme “Connect the World” with Becky Anderson, Sanwo-Olu who earlier said no death was recorded, was able to state that two deaths have been recorded in the gunfire incident that rocked the #EndSARS protest at the Lekki tollgate on Tuesday, October 20.
“From the footage that we could see, it seems to be…there would be men in military uniform, who should be Nigerian Army or something,” Sanwo-Olu said.
But Anderson pressed further by asking, “are you saying it was military officers who ordered that peaceful protesters be shot at?.. the governor said, “Yes, they were there. That’s what the footage shows.”
Furthermore, he was asked if he was committed to full investigation into the shooting incident and if the soldiers involved would be held accountable, Governor Sanwo-Olu responded affirmatively but said only President Muhammadu Buhari could ensure the soldiers were punished in his capacity as the Commander-in-Chief.
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The governor, who described the incident as “extremely unimaginable”, assured that the Lagos State Government would make the CCTV footage of the shooting incident available to the state’s judicial panel of enquiry investigating the matter.
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 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 CNN Journalist also asked the Governor if himself and President Buhari were compelled to speak on the protesters because of international pressures, Sanwo-Olu said: “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 worked together.”
Sanwo-Olu further assured that the two-week-long #EndSARS protests would bring about positive change in the country.
“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 said.
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