Hamzat Admits Lekki Toll Gate Incident Damaged Public Trust in Lagos Government
Kehinde Adeleye
The All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the 2027 Lagos State election, Obafemi Hamzat, has admitted that the October 20, 2020 Lekki Toll Gate incident during the #EndSARS protests damaged public confidence in the Lagos State Government.
Hamzat described the incident as one of the painful moments in the state’s history while speaking during a Lagos governorship debate organised by TVC News.
The former deputy governor made the remarks while responding to a question about his personal knowledge of the decisions that led to the deployment of soldiers to the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, when he was serving as deputy governor.
Describing the incident as tragic, Hamzat said, “October, it was a sad day in Lagos. Very sad.”
When asked about his involvement in the decisions surrounding the military deployment, the APC candidate declined to categorically deny being present during the discussions.
“And I will not stand here and say I wasn’t in the room,” he said.
Hamzat subsequently pointed to the judicial commission of inquiry established by the Lagos State Government to investigate the incident, arguing that the panel was independently funded and included individuals critical of the government.
“Remember, Lagos State set up a judicial commission, funded, independent, putting people that are actually against government in there to find the truth. And they did their report,” he said.
He noted that the commission submitted a report that was made available to the public, adding that the state government subsequently issued a white paper through which it implemented several of the panel’s recommendations.
“The report is public. So they have their report. Lagos State government also did a white paper implementing a lot of those decisions,” Hamzat added.
The APC candidate also maintained that citizens had the constitutional right to protest, describing the establishment of the judicial commission as part of the government’s response to the incident and an attempt to address the concerns raised.
“So we believe that people have the right to protest. And that’s why we actually follow the judicial commission,” he said.
Addressing the military’s involvement, Hamzat argued that the armed forces operated under the authority of the Federal Government, stressing that the Lagos State Government did not exercise direct control over their operations.
“Everybody knows that the military is a function of the federal government,” he said.
However, he acknowledged that the incident had inflicted significant pain on residents and weakened public confidence in the government, insisting that the suffering of citizens should not be dismissed.
“We never, never rub over the pain of citizens. The wrong thing, trust was broken. But Lagos State did the right thing, set up the panel,” he said.
