Gbenga Omotoso, the commissioner for information in Lagos State has called on residents in the state to embrace peace and seek ways to rebuild Lagos after the #EndSARS protest since last year.
Omotoso who spoke during a special Arise TV programme titled,’ One Year after EndSARS’ on Wednesday, October 20, said the state government is working to rebuild Lagos after the 2020 protest which lead to the destruction of properties in the state.
“Lagosians should see themselves as members of one family. We agree, we disagree, but we must come together to build Lagos,” he said.
The commissioner explained that Lagos State lost about 200 new buses among others in the EndSARS protest and that the government of Sanwo-Olu is working hard to come out of the predicament.
He said the state government has set up a special committee to see to the rebuilding of the state, and that the process will take time and money to actualise.
However, many aggrieved Lagosians have called for the removal of the state commissioner of police for violating the human rights rules by insisting the police in the state will not allow the youths to protest.
Read also: #EndSARSMemorial: Nigeria Police arrest protesters, harass journalists
Inibehe Effiong, a civil rights advocate disclosed that the police and army massacred 99 youths during the Lekki toll gate incident and that the Lagos government is yet to bring justice to bear, rather it has been excused upon excuses.
“I heard the commissioner said that they are also human beings. We are all human beings. It is condemnable that some policemen lost their lives, but the commissioner has not acknowledged that 99 persons were killed during the protests. As stated by these 10 pathologies. These people also have families.
“ Governor Sanwo-Olu must demand the replacement of the state commissioner of police for the act of indiscipline by insisting he will not allow the rule of law,” Effiong stated.
Many other protesters who spoke to the press expressed that they were grieved because the report of the #EndSARS panel set up by the Lagos State government is not being made available to the people.
“Injustice still remains in the fabrics of Nigerian society. The report of the panel set to address the protest is yet released,” one of the protesters said.
October 20, 2020, will forever be known as black Tuesday in Nigeria. In darkness broken only by the blue light of cell phone screens, the sound of gunshots rang out as the army and police fired into a crowd of young people who had gathered at Lekki toll gate to protest the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), notorious brutality.
The massacre at Lekki punctuated more than two weeks of protest of police brutality in Nigeria.
