Sanwo-Olu suspends aide who said arsonists were “hunted and executed”

The Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended his senior special assistant on print media, Wale Ajetunmobi, for his controversial post on his personal X handle suggesting some arsonists were “hunted and executed” by the government.

The governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gbenga Akosile, announced the suspension in a brief statement on Tuesday.

He said Mr Ajetunmobi was suspended for misrepresenting the state government and that Governor Sanwo-Olu’s administration does not support any form of extra-judicial killings.

“Mr. Ajetunmobi’s suspension comes on the heels of the misrepresentation of facts on his personal “X” account on a past incident.

”The Governor wishes to state categorically that his administration frowns at any form of extra-judicial punishment and will not be a part of any such action. That is not who we are. That is not our way,” the statement read.

The announced suspension follows a recent report by PREMIUM TIMES on Mr Ajetunmobi’s X post where he stated that the majority of the arsonists who burnt down Television Continental, TVC, have been “hunted and executed.”

Sources close to the governor told PREMIUM TIMES that he was furious with Mr Ajetumobi after he was notified of the story. The governor reportedly ordered him to delete the tweet, which he did.

Mr Ajetunmobi’s now-deleted post suggests that security operatives were involved in the extrajudicial killings of arsonists who attacked TVC during the 2020 #EndSARS protest.

“The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: majority of them have been hunted down and executed.

“One of them, a young boy trading in cooking gas around Ketu, was found with AK-47 at the site. Even his neighbours were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later,” he said.

To clarify his statement, Mr Ajetunmobi explained that some of the arsonists were overpowered by soldiers and killed during an exchange of gunfire.

“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. Is that an extra-judicial killing to you?” he replied to an X user.

However, there was no reported exchange of fire on 21 October 2020, when protesters set fire to TVC. Instead, the most notable incident involving soldiers and protesters occurred a day earlier on 20 October 2020 at the Lekki toll gate.

According to the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Restitution for Victims of SARS-Related Abuses and other matters in its 309-page report, live ammunition was fired at the Lekki- Toll gate, leaving at least 46 unarmed protesters either dead or seriously injured.

Extra-judicial executions, which are the deliberate killing of an individual by a state agent without legal process, are a violation of basic human rights.

It also contravenes international laws and conventions such as the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and the Geneva Conventions, among others.

According to Global Rights, an international human rights advocacy group, Nigeria recorded more than 800 incidents of extrajudicial killings between 2020 and 2023.