“Why Buhari did not speak on Lekki Toll Gate shooting”

By Ezurike Ugochukwu

Nigerians and the international community have continued to express concern over the Thursday speech of President Muhammadu Buhari to the nation which they say was without a concrete statement on the Lekki Toll Gate shooting

Reacting on the issue on Sunday, the president through his Senior Special Assistant on Media & Publicity, Garba Shehu, stated that the president refrained from commenting on the issue to avoid speaking out of facts.

Buhari as a president could not comment on such matter until all facts are established, he expressed his full support to the Judicial panel of inquiry set up by the Lagos State Government and other states to 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.

He 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.

Buhari called for peace, brotherhood, and inter communal harmony which he said are central to our ethos and urges Nigerians “not to turn against one another in hate.”

The police and other security agencies he encouraged to move in to all corners of the country to restore calm and normalcy as quickly as possible.

Buhari said while his administration was working hard through many pragmatic ways to reduce the hardship of the millions of unemployed, poor citizens and those whose lives had been thrown into disarray by the harsh economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, he warned that resorting to widespread attacks and the organized looting and plundering of public and private property in many states were inimical to public good and stand condemned.

“A government that has launched a massive crackdown on corruption, brought in strong laws for a decisive battle against corruption, pursues loot recovery at home and abroad, and taken strong decisions against those who thought they were above the law, will not fold its arms when an otherwise legitimate and peaceful protest is turning into free-for-all vandalism and looting.

“While the administration has, for its part, blocked so many means of looting public money in a war against corruption, it is the expectation that all civil authorities, community and religious leaders in the country must rise against the organized looting and plunder we are witnessing in parts of the country.

“Families must turn back children who bring home unaccounted goods, in the same way wives must ask their husbands to return looted items brought home,” according to the statement.

Buhari further stated, “What is more, is that criminal actions as we have so far witnessed can weaken and erode the confidence of our people and that of foreign businesses in investing in the economy, Looting and vandalism will hurt trade and investment growth in our country, both large and small industries, as well as our hardworking people in the informal sectors of the economy.

“These incidents do not reflect well on any society. They are wrong and condemnable and should not be supported by reasonable members of the society.”

The decision of the Lagos State Ministry of Justice to prosecute 229 suspects arrested by the police for allegedly using the #EndSARS protest to destroy and loot public and private property also got commendation of the president.

The president said his administration had taken note of the grievances of the people, saying he had shown a clear determination to take all necessary measures to address the complaints and that the violence must stop.

The president in clear terms, condemned hate messages and eviction notices to ethnic and religious groups asking Nigerians to take pride in the fact that their diverse people had been living with one another in harmony for ages.

“The right of all citizens to live and work in any part of the country is a constitutional right and will be defended by the government,” he stated.