Governor Sanwo-Olu Inspects Burnt Assets, Relaxes Curfew, Begins Probe of Lekki Shooting, Sue’s for Peace

Joseph Gbagyo

According to Idowu Sowunmi Sowumi investigations from his Linkin official account shows that; the Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu-led Lagos State Government has began to count losses from the #EndSARS peaceful protest which later turned bloody and slipped out of the hand.

From the oldest edifice of the Nigerian judiciary, Igbosere High Court, to BRT Station in Berger and Oyingbo BRT Terminal, where over 80 brand new buses were burnt, to various burnt government-owned and private assets, including Orile Divisional Police Headquarters, Ajah Divisional headquarters, Amukoko Police Station on Cemetery Road, Lagos State Public Works Corporation in Ojodu, Lagos Island Local Government Area secretariat, Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area secretariat, City Hall, Nigeria Port Authority (NPA) Building at Marina, Lagos State DNA and Forensic Centre at CMS, Vehicle Inspection Service (VIS) headquarters in Ojodu and Toll Plazas at Lekki and Ikoyi Link Bridge, to Sanwo-Olu’s family house on Omidundun Street, Lagos Island, razed by the arsonists, to The Nation Newspaper, TVC, malls, among others, the destruction could not be justified by any logic.

The list seems to be endless according to Idowu.

Gathering up courage, Sanwo-Olu triggered the process of healing the state from the large scale destruction.

From the early hours of Friday the 23rd day of October, 2020, Sanwo-Olu embarked on an inspection tour of the assets destroyed, taking stock of losses to Lagos State Government and private businesses.

The governor stood in disbelief at the sight of the proportions of destruction wreaked by hoodlums, who took advantage of the #EndSARS protest to destroy and loot.

Sanwo-Olu, who was joined by the Deputy Governor, Obafemi Hamzat, and some members of Lagos State Executive Council, stopped at every community affected by the violence, preaching peace and assuring residents that his administration was on top of the situation.

At the headquarters of Ajeromi Ifelodun Local Government Area in Ajegunle, all that was left in the premises was the charred remains of the vehicles and office materials torched by the hoodlums. The imposing council’s secretariat was completely vandalised before it was razed.

Ajeromi Police Station, located in front of the council, was also razed. The barracks behind the station was not spared. Sanwo-Olu sympathised with the policemen attached to the station and their families, who are now rendered homeless.

It was a traumatising moment for the governor when he visited the vandalised palace of Oba of Lagos. Received by the palace chiefs led by Erelu Kuti of Lagos, Abiola Dosunmu, Sanwo-Olu reeled in shock as he moved round the ravaged chambers in the palace built centuries ago.

The governor visited 27 locations across the state where government assets and private properties were destroyed and physically assessed the level of the vandalism.

Sanwo-Olu described the arson attack in Lagos as “coordinated wanton destruction,” saying it would take the state many decades to recover from the devastation.

According to him, “My heart bled after I went out today for a first-hand assessment of the destruction of assets of the government and private properties. The level of destruction observed indicated that the violence was more than just a peaceful protest and agitations for police reforms. The proportion of the devastation is a lot. This is not the Lagos that was handed over to me on May 29, 2019.

“Moving forward from the destruction, we have to continue the process of healing ourselves. We need to stop some of our citizens still using the social media to instigate or incite the people. It will not be under my watch that we will lose the city that has the largest economy in the entire black nation. Enough is enough. I have moved round and I saw that our people want peace. On this, we are committed to bringing lasting peace back to the state.”

The governor disclosed that the Justice Doris Okuwobi-led Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution set up last Monday to investigate human rights violations by SARS operatives has had its terms of reference expanded to also investigate the circumstances that led to the shooting of protesters at Lekki Toll Plaza on Tuesday evening by soldiers.

The panel, Sanwo-Olu said, would start its sitting next Monday at Lagos Court Arbitration Centre International in Lekki. The fovernor urged members of the public to send their petitions and evidence on Lekki incident to the panel.

Having assessed the situation in the state Sanwo-Olu ordered the relaxation of the ongoing curfew, permitting movement and business activities from 8am to 6pm.

He said: “I have consulted with various formations of security agencies. We have gone round the state to gauge the situation. We still have pockets of insecurity that we need to deal with and these are isolated cases which we are trying to bring to full normalcy.

“We have decided we will be easing the curfew from tomorrow (Saturday) morning. Residents will be allowed to go out from 8am to 6pm.”

The governor urged residents to go about their businesses without fear, pointing out the workers of Lagos State Waste Management Authority (LAWMA) had been deployed to clear burnt materials off the roads.

The governor also visited Reddington Lekki Hospital where some of the injured protesters were admitted after the shootings. All admitted persons had been discharged.

Read below the text of Sanwo-Olu’s statement after the inspection:

Today, on our journey across Lagos, we paid respect to the ones we have lost. It was an emotional time for everyone, and we will find a way to remember them in the coming days.

Lagos belongs to us all. No other state has this unique combination of people living in peace, harmony and progress so it saddened me when I went round for an on-the-spot assessment to ascertain the level of destruction to public assets and private properties.

Our beautiful city has seen a level of destruction almost akin to a war zone. It was a shocking and very sad spectacle. Our land took a beating and this hurts. Historical buildings, cultural centres, private malls, government holdings and private businesses were pillaged and burnt.

This is not the Lagos we know. I am the 15th governor of the state and Lagos has never witnessed this level of destruction. The oldest court in Nigeria was razed down. Many properties were completely destroyed. It is time to heal ourselves and time to heal Lagos.

I will like to advise and implore citizens to resist the urge to instigate or incite people to violence especially on social media.

It is wrong to spread misinformation and create mass hysteria.

We also visited the various hospitals today to check on the progress of victims that were brought in from events this week.

It was heartwarming to note that quite a number have been discharged. We have also indicated that we will be picking all the bills.

Lagos will not burn. Not on my watch. Enough is enough. We want peace and we will get peace.

As shocking and sad as this situation is, we must come out of the ashes of destruction strong and with a determination that this unfortunate situation will not kill the spirit of Lagos.

We are Lagosians. We are known for our creativity, enterprising and can-do spirit. I am convinced that we will heal and rebuild our land. We have no other choice. It is our land and our home. We must do right by it.

We have expanded the terms of reference for the Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution to include the incident at the Lekki toll gate. If you have any claims, do send them to the panel. The panel will begin to sit on Monday at the Lagos Court of Arbitration situated in Lekki.

Going forward, we have to renew our commitment to peace, progress, social cohesion and make a promise to ourselves that never again shall we allow the forces of darkness take over our land. Because this is our land.