The Minority Caucus in the House of Representatives has strongly condemned the Tuesday killing of peaceful and unarmed protesters by security operatives at Lekki Toll Gate and other parts of the country.
The lawmakers, in a statement signed by the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ndudi Elumelu, on Wednesday, said that “such wicked act of extra-judicial killing of defenseless citizens, by suspected agents of the state, cannot be justified or condoned under any rule or guise whatsoever”.
“As lawmakers and representatives of the people, we cannot accept this gruesome execution of our young ones in their own country by security operatives. Life is sacred and no one has the right to terminate the life of another just because he has the apparatus of state power.
“Such brazen brutality and defilement of right to life, which is at the center of the on-going protests across the nation, underscores the demand for an immediate and total overhaul of our nation’s security architecture.
“We therefore call on President Muhammadu Buhari to immediately order the arrest and prosecution of officers involved in the Lekki killing as well as the withdrawal of soldiers from engaging protesters”, the lawmakers stated.
The caucus also restated its call on President Buhari to urgently rejig the nation’s security architecture through extensive reforms and urgent replacing of the service chiefs with more competent and professional hands to assist in effectively handling of the security challenges confronting the nation.
The caucus commiserates with the families of the victims of this heinous act and assured of immediate legislative actions that will ensure that justice is served.