President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media,
Dada Olusegun, has faulted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for demanding
accountability over the October 2020 Lekki Toll Gate shooting, asking why he
did not raise the issue during his visits to former President Muhammadu
Buhari.
Olusegun accused Atiku of exploiting the sixth anniversary
of the #EndSARS protests to advance his presidential ambition, arguing that the
former vice president had opportunities to question Buhari, who was president
when the shooting occurred.
In a statement responding to Atiku’s call for answers, the
presidential aide recalled that the former vice president visited Buhari in
Daura, Katsina State, on June 22, 2024, and again at his retirement residence
in Kaduna on April 11, 2025.
“Those two opportunities presented you with chances to ask
former President Buhari, who was President at the time of the Lekki Toll Gate
protests, the questions you are now asking President Tinubu,” Olusegun said.
He added that Atiku’s decision to raise the issue six years
after the incident showed, in his view, that the former vice president was
being politically insincere.
“That it took you six years to ask these questions is a
testament to your insincerity and desperation to become President,” he said.
Atiku had, in a post on his X account on Tuesday, renewed
calls for accountability over the shooting, which occurred during the #EndSARS
protests against police brutality.
“Six years after the Lekki shooting, Nigeria is still
waiting for a clear answer to one devastating question: Who gave the order?”
the former vice president asked.Buy Maps
He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of
failing to provide answers about the incident and to offer young Nigerians a
better future. He also criticised Tinubu’s response to the shooting, recalling
remarks the President made in October 2020 when he questioned the presence and
conduct of protesters who suffered casualties.
Responding, Olusegun argued that Tinubu was himself a victim
of the unrest, claiming that his Bourdillon residence in Lagos was nearly razed
during the protests and that he and his domestic staff had to flee for safety.
“In case your memory is failing you, sir, may I remind you
that President Tinubu, who was an ordinary citizen in 2020, suffered perhaps
more than anyone else during the protests,” he said.
Olusegun also challenged Atiku’s use of the phrase “Lekki
Massacre”, arguing that a massacre had not been definitively established
through legal proceedings.
He said invoking the term to criticise Tinubu amounted to
using a complex national tragedy for
political purposes, describing the former vice president’s comments as
an attempt to gain campaign advantage.Follow Politics
The presidential aide further accused Atiku of trying to
revive his economic recovery plan and dismissed his presidential ambition,
saying his latest intervention was driven by a desire to win the presidency.
The #EndSARS protests began in October 2020, with young
Nigerians demanding an end to police brutality and the disbandment of the
Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
The Lekki Toll Gate shooting remains a subject of public
controversy, including disputes over the events of that night, casualties and
accountability.
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