EndSARS: Hamzat admits public belief damaged over Lekki Toll Gate incident

The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate within the 2027 Lagos State election, Obafemi Hamzat, has acknowledged that public confidence within the authorities was broken by the October 20, 2020 incident on the Lekki Toll Gate in the course of the #EndSARS protests, describing the day as a painful second within the state’s historical past.

Hamzat made the remarks throughout a Lagos governorship debate on TVC News.

He was responding to a query about his private data of the safety selections that led to the deployment of troopers to the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, whereas he was serving as deputy governor.

Describing the incident as a tragic episode for Lagos, Hamzat stated, “October, it was a sad day in Lagos. Very sad.”

The APC candidate declined to categorically deny being current when the selections surrounding the army deployment had been made.

“And I will not stand here and say I wasn’t in the room,” he stated.

He subsequently referred to the judicial fee of inquiry established by the Lagos State Government to research the incident, noting that the panel was independently funded and included members he described as important of the federal government.

“Remember, Lagos State set up a judicial commission, funded, independent, putting people that are actually against government in there to find the truth. And they did their report,” Hamzat stated.

He defined that the fee submitted a report that was made accessible to the general public, including that the state authorities later launched a white paper by way of which it carried out a number of of the panel’s suggestions.

“The report is public. So they have their report. Lagos State government also did a white paper implementing a lot of those decisions,” he stated.

Hamzat maintained that residents had been entitled to protest, arguing that the institution of the judicial fee was a part of the federal government’s response to the incident and an effort to handle the issues raised.

“So we believe that people have the right to protest. And that’s why we actually follow the judicial commission,” he stated.

On the army’s involvement, the previous deputy governor famous that the armed forces had been below the authority of the Federal Government, stressing that the Lagos State Government didn’t have direct management over their operations.

“Everybody knows that the military is a function of the federal government,” he stated.

However, Hamzat admitted that the incident had prompted vital ache amongst residents and undermined public belief, insisting that the federal government couldn’t dismiss the struggling skilled by residents.

“We never, never rub over the pain of citizens. The wrong thing, trust was broken. But Lagos State did the right thing, set up the panel,” he stated.