Atiku, Obi Mark Sixth Anniversary Of Lekki Shooting, Demand Answers From APC Govt
By Sunday Etuka
Two leading opposition presidential candidates, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) and former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), on Tuesday marked the sixth anniversary of the Lekki Toll Gate shooting, calling for justice and accountability.
The incident occurred on October 20, 2020, when #EndSARS protesters were fired upon at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Tuesday, Atiku said the country was still waiting for a clear answer to what he called a devastating question. “Who gave the order?” he asked.
He recalled that in October 2020, Bola Tinubu, now President, suggested that those who suffered casualties during the shooting had questions to answer. According to Atiku, Tinubu asked: “How were they there? How long were they there? What kind of characters are they?”
Atiku said the response appeared more concerned with questioning victims than demanding answers from those responsible.
“The anger trending across the country today is not a social media performance. It is grief that has been left to harden into distrust,” he said, adding that families were still demanding answers and young people had watched the country move on without the truth they deserve.
He said the All Progressives Congress (APC) had governed Nigeria through the six years and could not keep asking Nigerians to remember the dead while refusing to confront unanswered questions. “A government that cannot give citizens confidence that their lives matter has failed one of its most basic duties,” he said.
The former Vice President also linked the anniversary to the economic hardship facing young Nigerians. He said petrol at ₦1,405 a litre meant less money for food, school, rent and work.
“The APC promised renewal. For too many Nigerians, the experience has been rising costs, shrinking opportunity and a future pushed further out of reach,” Atiku said. “No speech about growth can excuse empty pockets. No anniversary tribute can replace justice. No campaign slogan can erase six years of unanswered questions.”
Atiku said an aide told him of a young woman who was forced to resign from her job this month because her salary could no longer cover her transport costs.
He quoted her as saying: “The pay no longer covers transport. Everything in Nigeria just dey increase in price. Feels like I’m working for Bolt guys.”
He described the situation as a cruel reality in which even those with jobs were being priced out of earning a living.
Atiku said his Economic Recovery Plan was designed to address the hardship, with the objective to “Make Nigeria Affordable Again.”
He outlined support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria with savings passed on to consumers, more local production to create jobs, protection for minimum wage earners, student support, and funding the measures by cutting waste instead of imposing new taxes.
“Young Nigerians deserve the truth about Lekki. They deserve a government that protects life, and an economy that gives work a chance to lead somewhere,” he said.
Obi, in his own message, described the anniversary as “a painful reminder of the price Nigerian youths paid in their demand for a better country.”
He said peaceful #EndSARS protesters were met with gunfire on the night in question. “Lives were lost, many were injured, and the nation was left with questions about justice, accountability, and the sanctity of human life,” he said.
“We must never forget. We must never normalise injustice,” Obi said.
The NDC candidate reaffirmed his belief that a New Nigeria was possible, describing it as a country where citizens are protected and not brutalised, where young people are heard and not silenced, and where government power is exercised with responsibility and respect for human rights.
“Nigeria must become a nation where no citizen is punished for demanding good governance and a better future,” he said.
Obi added: “May the souls of the departed continue to rest in peace. May their sacrifice strengthen our resolve to build a Nigeria where this tragedy will never be repeated.”
