Lagos governor Babajide Sanwoolu has refuted claims that the CCTV at the Lekki toll gate was disconnected before soldiers shot unarmed #EndSARS protesters there on Tuesday.

The governor said in an interview on Arise News this morning, “Nobody ordered the removal of the CCTV cameras. Management of the toll plaza had said to me that because of the curfew that was announced they took a decision that they will take out installations that are critical to them.

“The cameras that were pulled off were a decision that the local personnel of the company took in conjunction with the management of the company. The security cameras are still intact and these are things that we can leave open for citizens to come and verify.”

The lights at the toll gate unusually went off before the soldiers opened fire on protesters singing the national anthem and waving the Nigerian flag. The soldiers continued to shoot at the protesters in the dark. 

People have questioned the role of the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) in this deadly crackdown.

The Lagos government owns and manages LCC.

The state-owned company said in a statement yesterday, “The perimeter closed-circuit television system (CCTV) are Mobotiz digital cameras. They were not removed and are still installed in the lanes even now. There was no instruction from ANYONE to remove the perimeter CCTV cameras.”  

The governor has said the footage of the surveillance cameras will be given to an investigative panel that his government will set up next week Monday.

“We will drop this as evidence so that experts can review and see what kind of cameras are these that were shown in the footage,” he said.

It is now two days since security forces forcefully dispersed #EndSARS protesters in Alausa and Lekki in Lagos. Amnesty International says 12 people were killed.

On Twitter, the army has described as ‘fake news’ reports that its troops fired at protesters. It has not made a statement to clarify its role in the incidents.

President Muhammadu Buhari, the commander-in-chief, has also not addressed the crisis to give account. A statement from his spokesman Femi Adesina on Tuesday did not mention the Lekki shootings, and sources have told Peoples Gazette that the incidents were not discussed at a cabinet meeting held yesterday.

The nature of the events that led to the Lekki massacre is still unclear.