Lekki shooting: ‘Why didn’t you ask Buhari?’ Tinubu’s aide faults Atiku’s EndSARS question

Atiku Abubakar during one of his visits to late President Muhammadu Buhari.

President Bola Tinubu’s Special Assistant on Social Media, Dada Olusegun, has faulted former Vice President Atiku Abubakar for demanding accountability over the October 2020 Lekki Toll Gate shooting, asking why he did not raise the issue during his visits to former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Olusegun accused Atiku of exploiting the sixth anniversary of the #EndSARS protests to advance his presidential ambition, arguing that the former vice president had opportunities to question Buhari, who was president when the shooting occurred.

In a statement responding to Atiku’s call for answers, the presidential aide recalled that the former vice president visited Buhari in Daura, Katsina State, on June 22, 2024, and again at his retirement residence in Kaduna on April 11, 2025.

“Those two opportunities presented you with chances to ask former President Buhari, who was President at the time of the Lekki Toll Gate protests, the questions you are now asking President Tinubu,” Olusegun said.

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He added that Atiku’s decision to raise the issue six years after the incident showed, in his view, that the former vice president was being politically insincere.

“That it took you six years to ask these questions is a testament to your insincerity and desperation to become President,” he said.

Atiku had, in a post on his X account on Tuesday, renewed calls for accountability over the shooting, which occurred during the #EndSARS protests against police brutality.

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

He accused the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing to provide answers about the incident and to offer young Nigerians a better future. He also criticised Tinubu’s response to the shooting, recalling remarks the President made in October 2020 when he questioned the presence and conduct of protesters who suffered casualties.

Responding, Olusegun argued that Tinubu was himself a victim of the unrest, claiming that his Bourdillon residence in Lagos was nearly razed during the protests and that he and his domestic staff had to flee for safety.

“In case your memory is failing you, sir, may I remind you that President Tinubu, who was an ordinary citizen in 2020, suffered perhaps more than anyone else during the protests,” he said.

Olusegun also challenged Atiku’s use of the phrase “Lekki Massacre”, arguing that a massacre had not been definitively established through legal proceedings.

He said invoking the term to criticise Tinubu amounted to using a complex national tragedy for  political purposes, describing the former vice president’s comments as an attempt to gain campaign advantage.

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The presidential aide further accused Atiku of trying to revive his economic recovery plan and dismissed his presidential ambition, saying his latest intervention was driven by a desire to win the presidency.

The #EndSARS protests began in October 2020, with young Nigerians demanding an end to police brutality and the disbandment of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).

The Lekki Toll Gate shooting remains a subject of public controversy, including disputes over the events of that night, casualties and accountability.