• APC govt owes Nigerians accountability, Atiku declares • Obi says Nigeria must
never forget killings • Sowore vows to reopen killings probe, if elected president

Presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Atiku Abubakar; the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi; and the African Action Congress (AAC) Presidential Candidate, Omoyele Sowore, have raised concerns over the October 2020 Lekki shooting, saying six years after the incident, the country is still waiting to know who ordered the shooting.

Atiku, in a statement marking the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, said the APC-led government owed Nigerians, particularly young people, accountability for the incident and a better future amid worsening economic hardship.

He also recalled President Bola Tinubu’s response, who, in October 2020, questioned the circumstances surrounding the presence of protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate and the casualties recorded during the incident.

Atiku said Tinubu, rather than demonstrating the empathy and compassion the tragedy demanded, had asked: “How were they there? How long were they there? What kind of characters are they?”

According to him, the response appeared more concerned with questioning the victims than demanding accountability from those responsible for the violence against peaceful protesters.
Obi, sharing the same view, called on Nigerians to preserve the memory of the October 20, 2020, Lekki Toll Gate shootings, warning that the country must never normalise injustice or forget the sacrifices made by young people in their quest for a better Nigeria.

He also made the call yesterday in a message commemorating the sixth anniversary of the incident, which became one of the most defining moments of the #EndSARS protests against police brutality in Nigeria.

The former Anambra State governor said the anniversary remained a painful reminder of the price Nigerian youths paid while demanding an end to police brutality, accountability and improved governance.

According to him, the events at the Lekki Toll Gate left the country with troubling questions about justice, accountability and the sanctity of human life.

For Obi, the anniversary should serve not merely as a moment of mourning but also as an opportunity to renew the national commitment to justice, responsible leadership and respect for human dignity.

MEANWHILE, the AAC Presidential Candidate, Omoyele Sowore, has vowed to reopen investigations into the October 20, 2020 Lekki Toll Gate killings, to identify those who ordered and carried out the shootings, and ensure their prosecution if elected President.

Sowore made the pledge yesterday, as Nigerians marked the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests, which erupted nationwide in October 2020 against police brutality, torture, extortion and extrajudicial killings.

In a statement commemorating the anniversary, the activist condemned what he described as six years of bloodshed, lies and impunity, demanding answers over the shooting of peaceful and unarmed protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos on October 20, 2020.

Titled “The #EndSARS at Six: Six Years of Blood, Lies and Impunity,” Sowore questioned why those responsible for the killings had not been brought to justice and why victims and survivors were still waiting for accountability.