Former vice-president and African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has called for accountability over the October 2020 Lekki shooting, asking who ordered the attack on EndSARS protesters six years after the incident.
In a post on X on Tuesday, Atiku accused the All Progressives Congress (APC) of failing to provide answers on the shooting and of failing to offer young Nigerians a better future.
“Six years after the Lekki shooting, Nigeria is still waiting for a clear answer to one devastating question: Who gave the order?” he wrote.
Atiku also faulted President Bola Tinubu’s reaction at the time, recalling that in October 2020 Tinubu questioned the presence and conduct of protesters who were among the casualties.
“At a moment when Nigerians were demanding accountability for the violence against peaceful protesters, his response appeared more concerned with questioning the victims than demanding answers from those responsible,” he said.
According to him, the failure to give satisfactory answers has deepened public distrust, leaving families seeking justice and young Nigerians frustrated.
“The anger trending across the country today is not a social media performance. It is grief that has been left to harden into distrust,” he said. “It is the pain of families still demanding answers, and of young people who watched their calls for dignity meet violence and then watched the country move on without the truth they deserve.”
He added: “The APC has governed Nigeria through these six years. It cannot keep asking Nigerians to remember the dead while refusing to confront the unanswered questions. A government that cannot give citizens confidence that their lives matter has failed one of its most basic duties.”
Petrol price, cost of living
The former vice-president also pointed to the rising cost of petrol, which he put at N1,405 per litre, saying it had made food, rent, education and transport harder for households to afford.
He cited the story of a young woman, relayed by one of his aides, who reportedly resigned from her job because her salary could no longer cover her transport costs.
Quoting her, Atiku wrote: “The pay no longer covers transport. Everything in Nigeria just dey increase in price. Feels like I’m working for Bolt guys.”
He said the account showed an economy in which even employed Nigerians struggle to afford getting to work.
Economic Recovery Plan
Atiku said his Economic Recovery Plan was designed to tackle the hardship, with the aim to “Make Nigeria Affordable Again.”
According to him, the plan includes support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, with the savings passed on to consumers; increased local production to create jobs; protection for minimum-wage earners; and student support. He said the measures would be funded by cutting government waste rather than imposing new taxes.
He insisted that young Nigerians deserve the truth about the Lekki shooting and an economy that gives them a fair chance to build their future.
“Six years on, the APC has had ample time to answer for its record. Nigerians are entitled to ask why the answers and the opportunities are still missing,” he said.
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