The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has described the event of the reported casualties of protesters at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos on Tuesday night as disturbing and not reflective of the nation’s growing democracy.
Gbajabiamila, who expressed grief over the sad event and the consequent civil disturbances around the state, called for a quick and thorough investigation into the incident that led to the avoidable victims at the Lekki Tollgate.
In a statement by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Lanre Lasisi, the Speaker said: “Events in my home State Lagos, last night (Tuesday) and up until this afternoon (Wednesday), have left my heart heavy and my spirit disturbed.
“After sixty years, our democracy should have grown beyond the point where conflicting visions of nationhood result in violence on the streets and blood on the ground.
“It is unavoidably and painfully clear that there were a number of casualties as a result of gunfire at the Lekki Toll Gate.
“Therefore, there needs to be a quick and thorough investigation to determine the facts of what happened last night in Lagos. Our nation urgently needs and the Nigerian people deserve an accounting of the acts that led to the events of last night”.
While urging Nigerians to remain calm and law-abiding, Gbajabiamila noted that no blood needed to be spilled any more, saying, “I urge for calm whilst we get a truer picture of events.
“In Lagos and everywhere else, too much blood has already been spilled in our country, let there be no more.
“May God bless and keep you all. And may God bless and keep our Federal Republic of Nigeria”.
