#EndSARS: I Nearly Shed Tears Over Destruction Of Properties In Lagos – Governor El-Rufai

Kaduna State Governor, Nasir El-Rufai said he nearly cried seeing the level of destruction of public properties in Lagos State following the violence that erupted after the #EndSARS protest.

Governor El-Rufai stated this on Thursday when he visited his Lagos counterpart, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, whom he said did his best to prevent the peaceful #EndSARS protests from degenerating into chaos.

According to a statement by Gboyega Akosile, chief press secretary to Lagos state governor, El- Rufai said anyone who cares about development and progress will cry after seeing what has been done to public facilities and people’s investment that provided jobs to youths.

The Kaduna Governor said the youths who damaged the properties engaged in an act of “self-destruction” and would feel the repercussion of their action, assuring that “we will do whatever support Lagos needs from us to get back better.”

“I have spent time to see some of the pictures of the destruction done on public properties in Lagos and I nearly shed tears,” El-Rufai said.

“Anyone who cares about development and progress will cry after seeing what has been done to public facilities and people’s investment that provided jobs to youths.”

While the Kaduna State Governor agreed that expressing anger over issues is the right thing for people to do, he faulted the destruction of public properties, describing the recent incidents in the south-western state as a setback.

“The Government of Lagos and the Federal Government will have to re-invest scarce resources that could have been used for other things to rebuild the vandalised facilities,” El-Rufai said.

He said his Lagos counterpart did all he could to prevent the protests against police brutality from taking a violent turn, saying the gravity of the destruction is “pure evil.”

El-Rufai accused those who “thrive in violence” of infiltrating “the protest to achieve their agenda of wreaking a large-scale destruction on public assets and infrastructure in Lagos.”

The Kaduna Governor argued that those who damaged public infrastructure engaged in an act of “self-destruction” and would feel the repercussion of their action, assuring that “We will do whatever support Lagos needs from us to get back better.”

According to the governor, calling for the disbandment of the entire police force because of the action of a few bad eggs was out of order.

For Sanwo-Olu, his government is seeking for partnership to help in rebuilding the state and restoring the lost assets and vowed to make the commercial centre uncomfortable for those who want to destroy the state’s economy.

Despite the violence that followed the #EndSARS protest, the Lagos State Governor assured that his government is committed to getting justice for those brutalised by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) team of the police.

He equally thanked his Kaduna counterpart for extending support towards rebuilding Lagos State, restating that his government would welcome all forms of help to restore all lost assets.

KanyiDaily had reported that Lagos State Police Command had arrested 520 suspects in connection with the violence that erupted after the #EndSARS protest which saw 10 persons, comprising six policemen and four civilians, being killed, and 38 cops injured.