EndSARS: Frank Calls for Resignation, Trial of Sanwo-Olu over Alleged Role in Lekki Tollgate Killings

Udora Orizu in Abuja

A former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Timi Frank, has called for the resignation and trial of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State for requesting the deployment of the military which led to the killing of scores of youth during the EndSARS protest near the Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos in October 2020.

Frank, in a statement Wednesday in Abuja, said Sanwo-Olu, as the Chief Security Officer of Lagos State, is culpable for illegally inviting soldiers to crack down on the youth exercising their constitutional rights to assemble and protest against ills in the society.

According to him, the report of the Lagos State judicial panel of inquiry on restitution for victims of SARS related abuses and other matters has established beyond reasonable doubt that soldiers used lethal weapons which killed, maimed and injured scores of the protesters.

He said: “After over a year of denial, subterfuge and coverups, the truth has been forensically established.

“Soldiers deployed to Lekki Toll Gate based on a request by Sanwo-Olu harassed, brutalised, injured, maimed and killed innocent Nigerians that they swore an oath to protect as democratically elected political leaders.

“What happened on the night of 20/10/2020 at the Lekki Toll Gate as detailed in the report of the panel is clearly a crime against humanity which is a breach of the nation’s constitution and international law and United Nations conventions and protocols on the fundamental human rights of citizens.

“The law must now take its cause, punish those indicted and ensure adequate and manifest justice for the victims of the unwarranted incident.

“We commend the Justice Doris Okuwobi (rtd)-led panel for demonstrating uncommon courage in the discharge of their assignment. The report is clear, detailed and evidence-based.

“The panel did not only identify the Lagos State Governor as the one who invited the army, it equally listed names of army officers who carried out the ungodly, dastardly and unforgettable genocide.

“The panel has exposed the underbelly of lies by both the Lagos State Government that set up the committee and the federal government that has been defending the military over their wicked and ignoble role in the massacre.”

He, therefore, called on Nigerians to demand the immediate resignation and prosecution of Sanwo-Olu and his agents for violating their oaths of office and flagrant breach of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“This heinous crime against humanity must not go unpunished. Even though some of the actors now enjoy constitutional immunity against arrests and trial but they must be held to account now or after leaving office.

“The International Criminal Court must ensure that those indicted are extradited and tried at the appropriate time.

“Leaders of the free world including the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, France, etc, must ensure that the visas of Buhari, Sanwo-Olu, Army Generals and other security personnel indicted in the report are cancelled and equally banned from major international functions,” Frank said.