Minority Caucus of the House of Representatives has expressed strong condemnation over Tuesday’s killing of peaceful and unarmed protesters, especially in Lagos.
Armed personnel suspected to be soldiers of the Nigerian Army, and other security agencies reportedly opened fire on the protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos, and other parts of the country.
Reacting to the development, the caucus in a statement signed by Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, on Wednesday, said, “Such wicked act of extra-judicial killing of defenseless citizens, by suspected agents of the state, cannot be justified or condoned under any rule or guise whatsoever”, pledging a legislative action to ensure that justice is served.
He said, “As lawmakers and representatives of the people, we cannot accept this gruesome execution of our young ones in their own country by security operatives. Life is sacred and no one has the right to terminate the life of another just because he has the apparatus of state power.
“Such brazen brutally and defilement of right to life, which is at the center of the on-going protests across the nation, underscores the demand for an immediate and total overhaul of our nation’s security architecture.
“We therefore call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order the arrest and prosecution of officers involved in the Lekki killing as well as the withdrawal of soldiers from engaging protesters.” The caucus also restated its call on President Buhari to urgently rejig the nation’s security architecture through extensive reforms and urgent replacing of the service chiefs with more competent and professional hands to assist in effectively handling of the security challenges confronting the nation, as it commiserated with families of victims of the incidences.
