President Muhammadu Buhari has finally broken his silence on Lekki shootings in Lekki, Lagos by soldiers which claimed the lives of EndSARS protesters on Tuesday, October 20.
In a statement by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Garba Shehu, Buhari explained he decided not to talk on the shooting incident until he had access to all the facts.
The Nigerian leader called on fellow citizens to embrace peace and the spirit of brotherhood and urged them “not to turn against one another in hate.”
The statement read:
As the Judicial panel of inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government, one of the more dozen states to do so, starts sitting on Monday, President Muhammadu Buhari has expressed his full support and optimism that it will assist the nation to give justice to peaceful protesters who lost their lives, security men who were murdered and property owners whose assets were vandalized and looted.
“The President, who said he had all along avoided going into a debate about the Lekki Toll Gate incidents until all the facts are established, appealed to the people all over the country to maintain peace and brotherhood as the machinery of the government and the wheel of justice turn against the perpetrators of murder, arson, stealing, rape, assault and malicious damage to public and private property.
“President Buhari reiterated his appeal for calm, brotherhood and communal harmony, telling Nigerians not to turn on each other in hate as according to him, peace, brotherhood, and inter-communal harmony are central to the nation’s ethos.
“He said it is important that the police and other security agencies move everywhere to restore calm and normalcy as quickly as possible.”
