PUNCH
Despite the widespread calls for an investigation into the controversial comment made by Wale Ajetunmobi, the suspended Senior Special Assistant on Print Media to Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, the state government has remained silent.
The suspended aide had claimed in a now-deleted post on Sunday that some arsonists who burnt down Television Continental during the #EndSARS protests in the state in 2020 had been “hunted and executed.”
Ajetunmobi had also alleged that one of the “executed” individuals was a young boy who worked as a cooking gas trader in the Ketu area of Lagos. He later denied any suggestion of extrajudicial killings, clarifying that his use of the term “execution” was an unintended “error.”
While the government distanced itself from Ajetunmobi’s remarks, asserting that it “frowns upon any form of extrajudicial punishment and will not condone such actions,” there was no mention of an investigation in the statement released on Tuesday by Gboyega Akosile, the Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to Governor Sanwo-Olu.
When PUNCH Metro contacted Akosile on Wednesday to find out whether an investigation would be launched following Ajetunmobi’s suspension, his phone rang unanswered. Subsequent SMS and WhatsApp messages also went unanswered when filing this report.
Similarly, the Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, did not respond to phone calls or messages from our correspondent seeking clarification on the government’s next steps following Ajetunmobi’s suspension.
In a telephone interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, former Vice President of the Ikeja Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association, Monday Ubani, SAN, commended Ajetunmobi’s suspension but stressed the need for further inquiry into the comments.
He said, “The young man voluntarily posted on his platform, using the term ‘execute’ to describe the situation, stating that they were ‘hunted and executed.’ He later clarified that he did not intend to imply extrajudicial actions, explaining that he meant they were arrested and dealt with by the law.
“The concern now is that people are eager to understand what prompted his remarks and whether there is any truth in his language.”
