The Presidency has said Amnesty International does not run the country and was wrong in its report on the movement of military men from the barracks to Lekki Tollgate, where peaceful #EndSARS protesters were shot at on Tuesday, October 20.
Mr. Femi Adesina, Special Adviser on Media & Publicity to President Muhammadu Buhari, said this on Channels TV, Thursday morning, while responding to claims that military high-handedness towards the protesters at Lekki Tollgate led to hoodlums looting and burning across the country.
Also exonerating the military, Adesina said that the Lekki Tollgate incident didn’t precipitate the arson and looting spree that spread across the country.
Vanguard had reported that Amnesty International, on Wednesday, released a report entitled “Nigeria: The Lekki Toll Gate massacre — new investigative timeline”.
In the report, the rights group chronicled the movement of soldiers from a barracks till they got to the tollgate, where flag-waving and the National Anthem-singing #EndSARS protesters were shot at.
Earlier, it had claimed that about 12 persons were killed in the shooting, which precipitated the looting spree across the country.
However, pointing out that looting and burning had started before the Lekki incident, Adesina told Channels’ Sunrise Daily: “The prison break incidents in Benin and Oko had happened before Lekki.
“Orile Police Station was burnt before Lekki. Many things happened before Lekki. So Lekki didn’t precipitate the looting, arson.
“Amnesty International is wrong. They don’t have all the facts; they don’t run this country, so they shouldn’t know beyond what they have been told.
“Amnesty International should do its job. But it’s the duty of Nigerians to look at what they have said whether it’s justifiable or not.”
Asked about the reports by the ministers who President Buhari had sent to their home states, Adesina said: “Only two ministers had briefs ready.
“The rest are still in their respective states. They should turn in their reports in the coming week and they will help establish the truths about some things.
“The minister will come with what is near authentic.”