By Adesina Soyooye
Presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, on Thursday, admitted a break down of law and order in Nigeria, a result of the #EndSARS protest by thousands of Youths nationwide.
Adesina spoke on a Channels Television interview while responding to Amnesty International’s verdict on the Nigerian situation.
He disagreed with AI over what led to the unprecedented arson and looting, both products of the protest.
AI had attributed them to the shootings at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, of Youths, which resulted in fatalities by, alleged, soldiers. The Army has denied any involvement in the shootings, but said it was deployed on the request of the Lagos State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
But in response, Adesina said the break down of law and order had started before the Lekki Toll Gate incident. He said the Benin Prisons had been looted, and prisoners released. He also said a couple of Police Stations had been burnt down before Lekki.
Adesina, also, faulted the claims that those who looted warehouses were angry and hungry. According to him, they took advantage of the break down of law and order during the protest and not as a result of AI’s conclusion of hunger and anger in the land.
Adesina:” This crowd of people you see going to loot are not necessarily hungry and angry. They are taking advantage of the collapse of law and order that came as a result of protracted protests. Amnesty international is wrong.
“Anarchy had broken loose before even Lekki. The Prisons in Benin and Oko had been broken before Lekki; Orile Police station had been burnt before Lekki; many policemen had been burnt before Lekki, so you cannot say that Lekki precipitated all those things. Look at the timelines. Check when those things happened, you will see that they had happened before Lekki.”
Adesina also said that Amnesty international neither runs Nigeria, nor have the facts of what happened.
Adesina: “Amnesty international does not have all the facts. They don’t run this country. They shouldn’t know beyond what they have been told. Certain criminal things had happened before Lekki.”
