Lekki Shooting: I have made attempts but yet to speak with Buhari — Sanwo-Olu

Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has disclosed that he is yet to speak with President Muhammadu Buhari on the shooting that took place at the Lekki Toll Gate on Tuesday.

Amnesty International and other campaigners have said at least 12 people were killed by soldiers and police in two locations in the city.

The governor in an interview on Arise TV, said he made two attempts to speak with the president on Wednesday but was not successful on both occasions.

He said when he first called the President’s office, he was told the President was yet to resume in the office and the second time the President was said to be attending the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting.

But he said he later got a call from the Chief of Defence Staff, Gen. Abayomi Olonisakin on the order of the President.

He said the Chief of Defence had called around midday on Wednesday “to say that if indeed I require for the military to come out, they will deploy them”.

Sanwo-Olu did not say whether he accepted the offer.

He said, “I made calls to want to speak with the President yesterday. First, he hadn’t come to the office and the second time he was at the FEC meeting. So indeed I haven’t spoken to him directly but I actually did call to want to speak to him.

“But like I said he was at the FEC meeting…He was actually the one that asked the Chief of Defence Staff to call me. I think it was when he got my message because when the Chief of Defence called me, he said the President asked him to call. I haven’t spoken to him directly, maybe later today that might happen. I don’t have a report to say this is what he said because we haven’t spoken.

Anarchy descended on the state on Wednesday when suspected arsonists moved from one establishment in the state to another to set the places ablaze.

At the end of the melee, several facilities were razed. They included the Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) terminals in Oyingbo and Ojodu Berger which had several buses; headquarters of the Nation Newspapers, Television Continental, the Nigeria Ports Authority (NPA), police stations, local government council offices, among others.