Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, vice-presidential candidate of the
Labour Party (LP), says it is debatable to describe the October 2020 Lekki
shooting as a massacre.
Baba-Ahmed spoke on Thursday during an interview on Channels
Television.
On October 20, 2020, in what appeared to be an attempt to
disperse the #EndSARS protesters, officers of the Nigerian Army stormed the
Lekki tollgate and shot sporadically.
In November 2021, a judicial panel set up by the Lagos
government to probe cases of police brutality — including the Lekki shooting —
said protesters were killed at the tollgate in what could be described in the
context of a “massacre”.
However, the Lagos state government rejected the findings of
the judicial panel.
Commenting on the #EndSARS protests, Baba-Ahmed dismissed
the insinuations that his party is the “direct” beneficiary owing to the LP’s
growing support among youths.
“There was abuse of human rights, procedures and if some
people interpret it as massacre, then yes. However, massacre has different
technical meanings. I can’t say I know all of it,” he said.
“First of all, no
advance notice was given before the attack. The victims must have been attacked
in their own areas.
“These are well-meaning Nigerians who brought themselves out
in the public area and were attacked by security forces who are meant to be
protecting their lives and properties.
“The use of ‘massacre’ is highly debatable, but I can say
for sure that there were abuses of procedures and civil rights violations.”
Asked if his administration will allow Nigerians to protest
in a civil manner if elected into office, the LP vice-presidential candidate
said: “Absolutely yes.”
“Put this on record.
I wouldn’t as a leader invite people to come out to protest but whenever there
is a legitimate, good, peaceful rally or demonstration, I will be proud as a
leader,” he added.
“I will welcome the fellow citizens, speak with their
leaders, bring them out of the streets, go to a roundtable, discuss; we will
come out and jointly address the crowd.
“I’m fully in support of people claiming and taking their
legitimate rights. I will be in support of it if elected as a leader.
“I assure you that Peter Obi is also like that. He has encouraged us in his team to be like that so long as rules are followed.”
Click to signup for FREE news updates, latest information and hottest gists everydayAdvertise on NigerianEye.com to reach thousands of our daily users
No comments
Post a Comment
Kindly drop a comment below.
(Comments are moderated. Clean comments will be approved immediately)
Advert Enquires - Reach out to us at NigerianEye@gmail.com