APC’s Hamzat admits #EndSARS massacre at Lekki tollgate during governorship debate

Lagos Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat has admitted that #EndSARS protesters were killed at the Lekki Tollgate in 2020, citing the state’s judicial panel report.

Lagos State Deputy Governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate, Obafemi Hamzat, has admitted the killing of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020, Peoples Gazette reports.

Hamzat made the admission on Sunday during a debate with candidates, when asked what he knew about the incident. He described it as sad and cited the Lagos State judicial panel report.

“I will not stand here to say I’m not the deputy governor. I was in the room. Remember Lagos set up a judicial commission, funded and independent, to find the truth.

“They did their report. Lagos also did a white paper, implementing a lot of those decisions. We believe people have the right to protest. That’s why we followed the judicial commission,” he said.

He added: “Everybody knows the military is a function of the federal government. To say that Lagos State has anything to do. We accept. I will never run over the killing of citizens.”

The panel report, released a year later, found that the Lagos government, through the governor, invited the Nigerian Army before soldiers were deployed to the tollgate. It also recommended the dismissal of soldiers who shot unarmed protesters.