Written by Ugonma Uzoanya
Two days after the massacre of innocent protesters at Lekki in Lagos, Nigerians are still wondering when the President of Nigeria Muhammadu Buhari will speak up about the inhuman treatment meted out to unarmed individuals.
Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Nigerian Heads of State have come out to speak against the unfortunate incident which occurred on the 20th of October 2020. The incidence lead to the loss of several lives while leaving others with varying degrees of injuries.
Osinbajo stated that the Nigerian Government will get justice for victims of Tuesday Lekki toll gate massacre. In a series of tweets, he described the loss of lives as “irreplaceable.”
“My heart goes out to all the victims of the Lekki shootings and also the policemen and all other men and women who lost their lives in the past few days in different parts of Lagos and other states.”
“I spoke with some of them in the Hospital. The pain of these terrible events is palpable in our towns and cities, and some losses are irreplaceable, but we can and will get justice for all of them. I stand with Lagos & all other affected states in these trying times”.
“We pray we will never see a repeat of these tragedies in Jesus name. God bless you all”.
Former president Olusegun Obasanjo in a series of tweets and a letter expressed his displeasure towards the massacre.
The tweet which he titled: Statement on Violence against Protesters in Nigeria: An Appeal for Calm, reads in part;
“The shooting and murder of unarmed protesters, no matter the level of provocation, has never been effective in suppressing public anger and frustration”.
“Instead, such actions only reinforce the anger and frustration of the populace and close the window of dialogue and peaceful resolution. It is clear that Mr. President and his lieutenants did not exhaust the opportunities for dialogue with the protesters before resorting to the use of force”.
“It is worse that there is a denial of wrongdoing in spite of overwhelming visual evidence. Great harm has been done but it can be stopped before it completely spirals out of control”.
“We are at a critical moment in this crisis and the President must act now before it is too late. This time demands leadership and mature leadership at such is imperative that leaders at all levels, starting with Mr. President, must demonstrate meekness, humanity and sincerity in meeting the legitimate demands of the protesters and ensuring that justice is served where it must be served. These are the potent ways of ending this crisis now”.
“The youth must give peace a chance while making their legitimate demands. They must be mindful of miscreants who will infiltrate their ranks and give the protests a bad name so that trigger-happy forces will kill them”.
“The destruction and looting of public and private properties will only hurt all of us and set us back”.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also lent his voice towards the Lekki massacre. In a video, He described it as a sad event and heartbreaking. Atiku shared his condolence with the families of the victims. He further called on the armed forces to show restraint and asked for no more lives to be lost. He appealed to the government not to succumb to using maximum force on the #EndSARS protesters.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has also lent his voice towards the Lekki massacre. In a video, He described it as a sad event and heartbreaking. Atiku shared his condolence with the families of the victims. He further called on the armed forces to show restraint and asked for no more lives to be lost. He appealed to the government not to succumb to using maximum force on the #EndSARS protesters.
