#EndSARS Protesters’ Ghost Haunting Lagos

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu last Monday suspended his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Wale Ajetunmobi, for his post on his personal X handle revealing that some arsonists during the 2020 #EndSARS protest, were “hunted and executed” by the government.

The governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gbenga Akosile, said Ajetunmobi was suspended for misrepresenting the state government and that Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration does not support any form of extra-judicial killings.

Ajetunmobi’s now-deleted post revealed that security operatives were involved in the extrajudicial killings of arsonists who attacked TVC during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.

“The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: Majority of them have been hunted down and executed. One of them, a young boy trading in cooking gas around Ketu, was found with an AK-47 at the site. Even his neighbours were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later,” he wrote.

Sources close to the governor said he was furious with Ajetumobi for the disturbing post.

There was never any report of exchange of fire on October 21, 2020, when protesters set fire to TVC, as the most notable incident involving soldiers and protesters occurred a day earlier on October 20, 2020 at the Lekki toll gate.

Though the state government has constantly maintained that there were no extra-judicial killings during the protest, Ajetunmobi’s revelation has now punctured the claim.

If Adetunmobi’s claim is true, it is one of the most terrifying and disturbing pieces of information to come out of the #EndSARS protest.

His revelation shows that kidnappers and other criminal elements are not only the major threats to lives in Nigeria, but that state agents are also on the prowl, hunting down the perceived enemies of the state.

 Unfortunately, there is no accountability and no consequences for state-backed criminality and impunity in the country. 

Ajetunmobi may have been suspended but it is certainly not the end of the matter.