Lawmakers representing all states in the Southwest in the Senate, on Tuesday, described the destructions by hoodlums in Lagos State as an orchestrated tragedy that must be thoroughly investigated.
Hoodlums, who hijacked the EndSARS protest in Lagos, had unleashed mayhem on the State, destroying both public and private assets.
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The delegation of the Southwest caucus in the Senate, led by Senator Ajayi Boroffice, had on Tuesday visited the Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu, at the State House in Marina, to commiserate with him.
Sen. Boroffice, who represents Ondo North, described the destruction as ‘orchestrated tragedy’ that must be thoroughly investigated, wondering why the youth protest was prolonged and allowed to degenerate to violence when the Federal Government had agreed to their five-point demands.
He expressed worry that the youths working in the businesses that were destroyed would be rendered jobless as it would take time for the owners of the businesses to recover, given the extent of loss.
“No Nigerian is against peaceful protest, but demonstration that does not have a leadership will encourage hoodlums to hijack and wreak havoc.
“Adequate decision had been taken by the government to attend to the demands of the protesters.
“Of course, some of the demands require constitutional amendment and cannot be done immediately.
“The Senate showed its readiness to look into the issues with the necessary amendments.
“So, it was unnecessary for the protest to be prolonged to the point of being hijacked by those with violent agenda,” he said.
Boroffice, however, noted that the burden occasioned by the destruction could not be borne by Lagos State Government alone, assuring that the South-West senate caucus would be meeting with the leadership of the National Assembly to prevail on the Federal Government to assist Lagos State to recover and rebuild.
He also said that the caucus would move a motion that would enable the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to catalogue the ugly images from the destruction and send to Nigerian embassies overseas for those in the Diaspora to see the proportion of damage wreaked.
Sanwo-Olu thanked the lawmakers for showing solidarity, saying that law-abiding residents had suffered from the violence and borne the brunt in harsh way.
The Governor expressed concern that some Lagos communities were now vulnerable to crimes, following the arsonist attacks on police stations and facilities housing security operatives.
He, again, condemned the shooting of protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza by soldiers, insisting that until after a thorough investigation, no one would know how many lives were lost in the incident as against misinformation spread in the social media, which gave conflicting figure of deaths.
Sanwo-Olu said the two bodies found on the roads on Admiralty Road and Victoria Island had no link with Lekki shooting, adding that most of those who were injured in the incident had been treated and discharged.
