Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, has suspended Wale Ajetunmobi, his senior special assistant on print media, over comments he made on social media.
In a now-deleted post shared on X on November 23, Ajetunmobi claimed that several individuals involved in the burning of Television Continental (TVC) in 2020 were “hunted down and executed.”
“The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: majority of them have been hunted down and executed,” he wrote.
“One of them, a young boy trading in cooking gas around Ketu, was found with AK-47 at the site. Even his neighbours were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later.”
Ajetunmobi made the remarks in response to a post about recent comments by Reuben Abati, a former presidential aide.
X user @hamoye4real asked Ajetunmobi to clarify what he meant by “hunted down and executed.”
“What do you mean by ‘hunted down and executed’? Are you aware of extra-judicial killings?” the X user inquired.
Ajetunmobi responded: “Lol… you want to create a narrative in your head. What is extrajudicial killing here? Some of the people were chased by soldiers and exchange of fire occurred.
“Then arsonists were overpowered and killed in the process. Others ran away. Is that an extra-judicial killing to you?”
LAGOS GOVERNMENT RESPONDS
In a statement on Tuesday, Gboyega Akosile, media aide to Governor Sanwo-Olu, confirmed the suspension and emphasized that the state government does not condone extra-judicial actions.
“Mr. Ajetunmobi’s suspension follows his misrepresentation of facts on his personal ‘X’ account regarding a past incident,” the statement said.
“The Governor wishes to state categorically that his administration opposes any form of extra-judicial punishment and will not support such actions. That is not who we are. That is not our way.”
PROTESTS AGAINST POLICE BRUTALITY
In October 2020, young Nigerians took to the streets to protest against the notorious Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) and police brutality.
On October 20, 2020, security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos, resulting in multiple casualties.
The following day, on October 21, suspected hoodlums attacked the TVC headquarters, setting the building on fire. These attackers also targeted several police stations and other public and private properties as violence escalated in the wake of the Lekki tollgate shootings.
Reports indicate that security forces killed numerous protesters during the #EndSARS protests in Lagos.
In August 2023, a document surfaced on social media revealing that the Lagos state government had approved N61,285,000 for the “mass burial” of 103 people who died during the #EndSARS protests in the state.
The government clarified that the bodies were not from the Lekki tollgate incident.
