Rhodes-Vivour tackles Hamzat over #EndSARS, tear gas incident

File photo: Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour

The Lagos State governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, has challenged Deputy Governor Obafemi Hamzat over his comments on the 2020 #EndSARS protests.

Rhodes-Vivour recalled how he and other opposition figures were tear-gassed during a memorial at the Lekki tollgate in October, 2026.

Rhodes-Vivour stated on Sunday during the 2026 Lagos governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, where he responded to Hamzat’s account of the state government’s handling of the aftermath of the #EndSARS protests.

Hamzat had described October 20, 2020, as a sad day for Lagos, saying he was present during the period and would not disregard the pain experienced by residents.

He also defended the state government’s response, citing the judicial panel of inquiry established to investigate police brutality and the Lekki tollgate incident, as well as the government’s subsequent white paper on the panel’s recommendations.

“October 20th was a sad day in Lagos, very sad. And I will not stand here and say I’m not the deputy. I was in, I was in the room. But remember, Lagos State set up a judicial commission, funded, independent, pulling people against the government in there to find the truth. And they did their report,” Hamzat said.

He added that the report was made public and that the state government issued a white paper implementing several of the panel’s recommendations.

Hamzat said residents had the right to protest, noting that the military was under the control of the Federal Government.

“Everybody knows that the military is a function of the federal government. So to say that Lagos State Government has anything to do with it, we accept, because I will never, never rub over the pain of citizens,” he said.

However, Rhodes-Vivour questioned the consistency of Hamzat’s position with what he described as the recent treatment of opposition figures in the state.

He recalled that he and Funso Doherty, the governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, were among those tear-gassed by police officers at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2026, while attempting to lay flowers in memory of victims of the #EndSARS protests.

“I just want to speak on END SARS. While the Deputy Governor gave a very empathetic take on it, it does not really match the realities of what happened this month when Funsho Doherty and I were fired with tear gas,” Rhodes-Vivour said.

He argued that the incident reflected what he described as the normalisation of violence against opposition parties in Lagos.

“When we’re just putting flowers at the tollgate. So there’s this rhetoric that truly doesn’t match the reality of the normalisation of violence in Lagos State against opposition parties. So I just wanted to put that on record so people can also be aware of that,” he added.

The exchange took place during the Lagos governorship debate organised by the Nigeria Debate Consortium, comprising Channels Television, TVC News, The PUNCH, TheCable and Vanguard, ahead of the 2027 governorship election.

The October 20 incident occurred during a memorial organised by the Enough is Enough movement to honour those who died or went missing during the #EndSARS protests.

Police officers fired tear gas to disperse residents, journalists and political figures who had gathered at the Lekki tollgate, disrupting the planned wreath-laying ceremony.

Rhodes-Vivour and Doherty were among those affected by the police action, which forced participants to flee before they could lay the wreaths.

The organisers had planned to use the ceremony to remember victims of the 2020 demonstrations against police brutality.

The #EndSARS protests began in October 2020, with young Nigerians demanding an end to police brutality, particularly abuses associated with the now-disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad.

The Lekki tollgate became a focal point of the demonstrations following the shooting of protesters on October 20, 2020.

The Lagos State Government subsequently established a judicial panel of inquiry to investigate allegations of police brutality and the Lekki tollgate incident.

The panel submitted its report in 2021, while the state government later issued a white paper disputing some of its findings.https://punchng.com/just-in-police-disperse-lekki-tollgate-memorial-with-teargas/?utm_source=chatgpt.com