#EndSARS: Lagos Governor Attempts to Douse Tension, as Angry Citizens Torch Ports Authority, TV Station, Bus Park

Following Tuesday’s crackdown by security personnel on peaceful #EndSARS protesters in the upscale Lekki area of Nigeria’s commercial capital Lagos on Tuesday, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday stated his commitment to ensuring that all patients get medical attention while working with the federal government to get to the root of the despicable act.

Sanwo-Olu blamed “forces beyond his direct control” for the attack on #EndSARS protesters in the state, stating that there were no recorded fatalities in the Lekki shooting as against widespread social media reports to the contrary.

“Fellow Lagosians whilst we pray for the swift recovery of the injured, we are comforted that we have not recorded any fatality as against the widespread circulation on social media.

“Both myself and the leadership of my ministry of health have been going round. Indeed we went round all the hospitals last night.

“We went around the mortuaries last night to see and monitor for ourselves what has happened and to look and identify the injured protesters. It is therefore relevant to let you that we have personally visited all the hospitals that took in the patients,” Sanwo-Olu stated in his broadcast.

This came as angry mobs continued from where they left off on Tuesday by taking to the streets burning down government property, a private television station, and a bus park in central Lagos.

Television Continental (TVC) a TV station in Ikosi-Ketu was set ablaze by hoodlums, with several vehicles within the premises consumed by the inferno.

A popular talkshow program, YourView, was on when the hoodlums besieged the station. The program host, Morayo Afolabi-Brown asked to go on a commercial break but the station has since been off-air..

Also on Wednesday, another loacal TV station, Channels Television went off-air.

Meanwhile, angry youths in Marina, downtown Lagos, set ablaze the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA) as backlash over the crackdown on peaceful protesters continued.

Angry youths also stormed a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) station in Oyingbo and set several buses ablaze. The Circle Mall in Lekki also came under attack, while popular retail store ShopRite was looted. 

There were also reports suggesting that enraged protesters attacked Iga Idugaran, the palace of the Oba of Lagos. The mob also set Adekunle police station near the Third Mainland Bridge on fire after two of their residents were allegedly shot by the police on Wednesday morning.

This as a breakdown of law and order was witnessed in the Mushin area of the state.

Early Wednesday, the Nigerian Army denied shooting at the protesters in Lekki, despite video evidence showing men in uniform executing the dastardly act.

By Abel Ejikeme

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