Lagos indigenes ask Sanwo-Olu to suspend planned peace walk

•Coalition warns against economic sabotage

Some eminent Lagos State indigenes have advised Governor Babajide Sanwo- Olu to shelve the proposed peace walk billed for this month.

In a statement signed by their spokesman, Chief Adesunbo Onitiri, yesterday, the elders, who operate under the aegis of Prominent Lagos State Indigenes, warned that with the volatile economic and security situation in the country, particularly Lagos, it would be suicidal to embark on such exercise.

They expressed the fear that it might be an opportunity for the enemy of Lagos to set the state on fire with the proposed peace walk.

“We are in perilous times, most Lagosians are very angry and hungry. There is acute poverty in the land and the atmosphere is very charged and tense. The peace walk may trigger violent reactions. Let hungry sleeping dogs lie. Not at this period when most Lagosians are looking for how to put one square meal on the table and how to celebrate the Christmas season,” the statement read.

While condemning the state government’s white paper on the #EndSARS panel report, the group urged the governor to apologise to Lagosians for the many unarmed young protesters that were allegedly mowed down in their prime.

Meanwhile, a coalition of civil society organisations, Defend Lagos, has cautioned that any attempt to sabotage the economic activities of Lagos State through the narrative of #LekkiMassacre would be resisted.

The group, yesterday, said it was unfortunate that the good intentions behind the 2020 #EndSARS protests were destroyed when hoodlums hijacked the process to destroy significant monuments, lives and even various security posts in the country, especially in Lagos State.

This was contained in a statement signed by leaders of Committee for the Protection of Peoples Mandate (CPPM), Nelson Ekujumi; Activists For Good Governance, Declan Ihekaire; Centre Against Injustice and Domestic Violence (CAIDOV), Gbenga Soloki; Coalition of Oodua Self Determination Groups (COSEG), Dayo Ogunlana and Grassroots Democratic Initiative, Razaq Obasola, among others.

They commended Governor Sanwo-Olu for the spirit of statesmanship displayed in reaching out to some of the leaders of the #EndSARS Protest Movement during his broadcast on Tuesday 30th November 2021.

The group also appealed to the governor to rally the Presidency, National Economic Council (NEC), All Progressive Congress (APC) legislators, Police Service Commission and the Inspector General of Police amongst others to push for necessary reforms in the police.

According to them, those bandying the massacre narrative have a bigger agenda, and with time, the truth would unfold (The Guardian)