Lekki Shooting: Atiku Challenges APC to Explain Who Ordered Violence Against EndSARS Protesters

Former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar has challenged the All Progressives Congress (APC) to explain who ordered the violence against EndSARS protesters during the October 2020 Lekki shooting, saying Nigerians are still waiting for answers six years after the incident.

Atiku, who is the presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), made the call in a post on his X account on Tuesday, accusing the ruling party of failing to address lingering questions surrounding the incident and improve opportunities for young Nigerians.

“Six years after the Lekki shooting, Nigeria is still waiting for a clear answer to one devastating question: Who gave the order?” he asked.

He also faulted President Bola Tinubu’s response to the incident, referring to comments the president made in October 2020 in which he questioned the presence and conduct of protesters who suffered casualties.

Atiku argued that, rather than demanding accountability from those responsible for the violence against peaceful protesters, Tinubu’s response appeared to focus more on questioning the victims.

He said the lack of satisfactory answers had fuelled distrust in the country, with families continuing to seek justice and young Nigerians left frustrated by the handling of the incident.

“The anger trending across the country today is not a social media performance. It is grief that has been left to harden into distrust. It is the pain of families still demanding answers, and of young people who watched their calls for dignity meet violence and then watched the country move on without the truth they deserve,” he said.

Atiku maintained that the APC, which has governed Nigeria since the incident, must address the unresolved questions instead of asking citizens to remember those who died without providing answers.

“The APC has governed Nigeria through these six years. It cannot keep asking Nigerians to remember the dead while refusing to confront the unanswered questions. A government that cannot give citizens confidence that their lives matter has failed one of its most basic duties,” he added.

Beyond the demand for accountability, Atiku highlighted the worsening cost of living, citing a petrol price of N1,405 per litre and the increasing financial pressure on households struggling to meet expenses such as food, rent, education and transportation.

He illustrated the situation with an account from one of his aides about a young woman who allegedly quit her job because her earnings were no longer enough to cover her transport expenses.

According to Atiku, the woman said: “The pay no longer covers transport. Everything in Nigeria just dey increase in price. Feels like I’m working for Bolt guys.”

He said the experience reflected the economic difficulties facing workers who, despite having jobs, could barely afford the cost of getting to work.

The former vice-president said his Economic Recovery Plan would tackle the hardship through measures that include passing savings from support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria to consumers, boosting local production, protecting minimum-wage earners, supporting students and cutting government waste rather than introducing additional taxes.

“This is precisely the hardship my Economic Recovery Plan is designed to address, with one overriding objective: to Make Nigeria Affordable Again. My policy response is built around relief people can feel: support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with the savings passed on to consumers; more local production to create jobs; protection for minimum wage earners and student support; and funding these measures by cutting waste instead of imposing new taxes,” he wrote.

Atiku concluded that young Nigerians deserved transparency over the Lekki shooting and economic opportunities that would enable them to pursue their aspirations.

“Six years on, the APC has had ample time to answer for its record. Nigerians are entitled to ask why the answers and the opportunities are still missing,” he said.

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