Publisher of THEWILL Newspaper, Mr. Austyn Ogannah, has berated Nigerian state forces over the shooting at unarmed youthful unarmed #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Plaza in Victoria Island, Lagos, last week Tuesday, October 20, 2020.

Speaking Sunday afternoon while featuring on the Classic FM Lagos popular interactive personality programme, The Discourse, Ogannah, Publisher of the US-based THEWILL online daily newspaper, said: “It was irresponsible for the military to have shot either into the air or at the protesters to disperse them, depending on whose account of the incident you believe.”

He, however, disagreed with reports of a massacre during the controversial military operation that has attracted global condemnation.

He said: “There is no evidence so far that anybody died at Lekki toll gate. I work with a team of journalists and we have been making calls and tracking the incident. We have established that about 52 or 53 people were injured directly from the shooting at the Lekki Toll Plaza.

“From what we gathered, there was no massacre at Lekki toll gate. There is no evidence that supports that fact. How come that we haven’t seen any verifiable claim?” Only one death has so far been verified that we could presumably link to the Lekki Toll incident, someone who took a bullet in the heart, and was brought to a hospital in Ajah. We are still asking questions to know whether the victim was at the toll plaza because that same night, hoodlums were being shot at in the Ajah area by policemen who were battling to defend their police station from be taken over and torched by miscreants.

Ogannah, who was visibly angry during the programme, lambasted Nigerian politicians, describing them as “wicked people” who have turned the country into “a failed of failing state.”

“Using the same tactics you used in the ’70s, ’80s and ’90s for today is what has put us in this situation,” he said.

He called for urgent action by government to address the grievances of Nigerian youths as articulated by the #EndSARS campaigners.

The journalist further said government must hold everyone involved in the Lekki incident accountable and immediately launch plans to compensate persons, families and businesses that have suffered losses as a result of the anarchy and outrage that greeted reportage of the incident. “This is the first step to healing and reconciliation,” he concluded.

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