Mothers Write Buhari, Demand To Know Who Ordered Soldiers To Shoot ‘Our Children’ At Lekki

Nigerian mothers under the banner of ‘Mothers United and Mobilized’ have written an open letter to President Muhammadu Buhari, seeking to know who ordered the deployment of soldiers that allegedly shot at unarmed #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos State on October 2o, 2020.

The mothers said as “Father of the Nation”, they were calling on President Buhari to ensure that “our children, your children” get justice over the shooting incident that allegedly led to loss of the protesters’ lives and hospitalization of others that sustained gunshot wounds.

Speaking through the convener, Boluwaji Onabolu, and co-convener, Sonye Allanah, the group said its one mission was to seek, “the protection of our children, the amplification of their voices and mediation between the Father of the nation and the youth of the nation.”

The letter reads, “President Mohammadu Buhari, Father of the Nation, we watched as our girls were raped, stripped naked and tortured before our very eyes to confess to crimes they did not commit.

“We watched as our children in unison spoke up with one voice peacefully asking that no more should the nation watch while those given uniforms and arms for protection; kill, maim and extort money and their lives from them; Lives they did not nurture nor give were taken away under the guise of ending robbery or internet crimes.

“President Mohammadu Buhari; Father of the Nation, we watched as the state sponsored the infiltration of these peaceful protests with thugs and hoodlums to beat and kill our children, your children, we watched videos showing government and political operatives ferrying these thugs in their vehicles and releasing them with one aim only to attack, pollute and bury the messages of these young ones. Prisoners were set free; cars were burnt and protesters were attacked by those sponsored to stop the peaceful protests.

“In Ibadan, Abuja, Benin and other towns in the nation, the politically sponsored tactics and outcomes were the same; infiltrate, discredit, distract, maim and kill. In the past 48 hours youths are being hunted and their blood spilled solely because they clamored peacefully for the kind of governance which forbids brutality against its own children.

“We watched and saw military men, trained for war and armed for battle using the Federal might of live bullets against unarmed protesters, our own children, your own children at Lekki gate on the 20th of October 2020.

“President Mohammadu Buhari, Father of the nation Nigeria, 20.10.20, is a date embedded in our hearts forever and never again will we watch as those we entrusted our children to for protection, try to stop their voices with bullets.

“As mothers united and mobilized we amplify the voices of our youth and our future and refuse that their message is hijacked or lost in the distraction of ethnic divisions, fear, terror and the smoke of the blazing guns.

“President Mohammadu Buhari, we call on you as Father of the Nation and Commander in Chief of the Nigerian Armed Forces to:

1. Cease and desist from the use of live bullets and tear gas against our children, your children
2. Ensure Justice: Constitute an immediate and transparent panel of inquiry about the shooting in Lekki and other parts of Nigeria of unarmed protesters; who ordered the shootings?, who carried it out and how are they being held accountable?
3. Address the youths with a clear and time bound response to their stated requests; our requests about how you intend to
   a. EndSARS; End SWAT and End Police brutality and implement requested interventions for police reform with time lease
   b. Compensation to each of the families of those killed by SARS/police and footing of medical bills of those injured
   c. Release of all those youths who have been detained for protesting peacefully and put a stop to the hunting that we have heard is going on for others.
   d. Create the safe space necessary for the youth to sit at a discussion table with you with no fear of reprisal.