Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has suspended his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Wale Ajetunmobi, following his controversial post on X (formerly Twitter) that suggested some arsonists involved in the 2020 #EndSARS protests were “hunted and executed” by government security forces.
Governor Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gbenga Akosile, confirmed the suspension in a statement on Tuesday.
Akosile explained that Ajetunmobi’s comments misrepresented the stance of the state government, emphasizing that the administration does not support any form of extrajudicial killings.
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“Mr. Ajetunmobi’s suspension comes on the heels of the misrepresentation of facts on his personal ‘X’ account on a past incident,” Akosile said. “The Governor wishes to state categorically that his administration frowns at any form of extrajudicial punishment and will not be a part of any such action. That is not who we are. That is not our way,” the statement continued.
The suspension follows Ajetunmobi’s now-deleted post, where he suggested that the majority of the arsonists who set fire to Television Continental (TVC) during the 2020 #EndSARS protests had been “hunted down and executed.” The post stirred significant controversy, prompting sources close to the governor to say he was “furious” upon learning of the statement. Ajetunmobi was reportedly ordered to delete the tweet, which he complied with.
Ajetunmobi later attempted to clarify his statement by suggesting that the arsonists were overpowered and killed by soldiers during a gunfire exchange. “Lol… you want to create a narrative in your head. What is extrajudicial killing here? Some of the people were chased by soldiers and exchange of fire occurred. Then arsonists were overpowered and killed in the process. Others ran away,” he replied to a user on X.
However, there were no reports of an exchange of fire at the time the TVC building was set on fire on October 21, 2020. The most notable incident involving soldiers and protesters occurred the previous day, on October 20, 2020, at the Lekki toll gate, where military personnel reportedly opened fire on unarmed protesters. The Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry into the #EndSARS protests later confirmed that live ammunition was used, resulting in at least 46 fatalities and injuries to many others.
Extrajudicial killings, the deliberate killing of individuals by state agents without legal process, are widely regarded as a violation of human rights and international laws, including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights.
Global Rights, a human rights advocacy group, reported more than 800 cases of extrajudicial killings in Nigeria between 2020 and 2023.
