EndSARS: Hamzat admits public trust broken over Lekki Toll Gate incident

The All Progressives Congress, APC, governorship candidate in the 2027 Lagos State election, Obafemi Hamzat, has acknowledged that public confidence in the government was damaged by the October 20, 2020 incident at the Lekki Toll Gate during the #EndSARS protests, describing the day as a painful moment in the state’s history.

Hamzat made the remarks during a Lagos governorship debate on TVC News.

He was responding to a question about his personal knowledge of the security decisions that led to the deployment of soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, while he was serving as deputy governor.

Describing the incident as a tragic episode for Lagos, Hamzat said, “October, it was a sad day in Lagos. Very sad.”

The APC candidate declined to categorically deny being present when the decisions surrounding the military deployment were made.

“And I will not stand here and say I wasn’t in the room,” he said.

He subsequently referred to the judicial commission of inquiry established by the Lagos State Government to investigate the incident, noting that the panel was independently funded and included members he described as critical of the government.

“Remember, Lagos State set up a judicial commission, funded, independent, putting people that are actually against government in there to find the truth. And they did their report,” Hamzat said.

He explained that the commission submitted a report that was made available to the public, adding that the state government later released a white paper through which it implemented several of the panel’s recommendations.

“The report is public. So they have their report. Lagos State government also did a white paper implementing a lot of those decisions,” he said.

Hamzat maintained that citizens were entitled to protest, arguing that the establishment of the judicial commission was part of the government’s response to the incident and an effort to address the concerns raised.

“So we believe that people have the right to protest. And that’s why we actually follow the judicial commission,” he said.

On the military’s involvement, the former deputy governor noted that the armed forces were under the authority of the Federal Government, stressing that the Lagos State Government did not have direct control over their operations.

“Everybody knows that the military is a function of the federal government,” he said.

However, Hamzat admitted that the incident had caused significant pain among residents and undermined public trust, insisting that the government could not dismiss the suffering experienced by citizens.

“We never, never rub over the pain of citizens. The wrong thing, trust was broken. But Lagos State did the right thing, set up the panel,” he said.