The World Igbo Congress, WIC, has said that the escalation of violence which trailed the #EndSARS protests was as a result of the government’s attempt to take over and dictate the pace of the protest that was peaceful until the Lekki toll gate killings in Lagos State.
The Igbo group also said that the unhindered free visa entry into Nigeria by other Africa nationals was also responsible for the uncontrolled violence that manifested in the civil protest.
WIC spokesman, Hon. Basil Onwukwe in statement, on Thursday, called for an independent investigation to determine who authorized the killing of innocent youths at the Lekki toll gate and demand for their immediate prosecution by international criminal justice.
The group condemned the Lekki killings and accused the Lagos security operatives of gross ineptitude. WIC said that it also noted the statement of former Governor of Lagos state, Alhaji Bola Tinubu, where he said the only people that can authorize such an order to kill is the President and the Chief of Army Staff of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
According to Onwukwe, “There was a systematic deployment of suspected assailants that was captured on video and is in the public purview, the government agents planned a takeover of protest and escalated the problem.
It is wrong to organize a crime against your citizen, exploit it, and blame the outcome on the people.
“No Nigerian will destroy Nigeria; the unrestricted free visa entry to Nigeria that brought in people without identification into the country may have brought this carnage and wanton destruction on us. Nnamdi Kanu cannot take credit for the protest and let nobody blame his group for the destruction.
“WIC is calling for an independent investigation to determine who authorized the killing of innocent youths at the Lekki toll gate and demand for their immediate prosecution by international criminal justice.”
