- Atiku Abubakar marked the sixth anniversary of the October 2020 Lekki tollgate shootings with a direct attack on the APC government
- The presidential candidate recalled Tinubu's 2020 remarks questioning victims of the shooting rather than demanding accountability from those responsible
- Atiku tied the unresolved Lekki questions to current economic hardship, citing petrol at ₦1,405 per litre as evidence of a government failing young Nigerians
Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over eight years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international issues
The presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) for the 2027 general elections has marked six years since the October 2020 Lekki tollgate shootings by calling on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) to account for what he described as unanswered questions about who ordered the violence against peaceful protesters.
Atiku said six years after the incident, Nigerians are still waiting for a clear answer on who gave the order.
The former vice president added that the grief felt across the country had hardened into deep distrust.
He stated this in a statement issued via his X handle @atiku on Tuesday, October 202, 2026.
Tinubu's 2020 response recalled
In his statement, Atiku pointed to remarks made by President Bola Tinubu in October 2020, when Tinubu reportedly asked,
"How were they there? How long were they there? What kind of characters are they?"
Atiku said that at a moment when Nigerians were demanding accountability, Tinubu's response appeared more focused on questioning victims than on seeking answers from those responsible for the violence.
Atiku said the APC had governed Nigeria through the six years since the shooting and could not continue asking Nigerians to remember the dead while refusing to address the outstanding questions.
"A government that cannot give citizens confidence that their lives matter has failed one of its most basic duties," he said.
Economic hardship deepens grievance
Atiku connected the unresolved Lekki questions to what he called the daily hardship facing young Nigerians, citing petrol at ₦1,405 per litre as a cost that ripples into food, school fees, rent and transport.
To illustrate his point, he said one of his aides had told him about a young woman who resigned from her job this month because her salary could no longer cover the cost of getting to work.
He quoted her as saying: "The pay no longer covers transport. Everything in Nigeria just dey increase in price. Feels like I'm working for Bolt guys."
Atiku described the situation as "the cruel reality of an economy in which even those fortunate enough to have jobs are being priced out of earning a living."
Atiku's proposed response
The former vice president said his Economic Recovery Plan was designed to address the hardship, with what he called the goal to "Make Nigeria Affordable Again."
He outlined measures including support tied to fuel refined in Nigeria, increased local production to create jobs, protection for minimum wage earners, student support, and funding these steps by cutting government waste rather than imposing new taxes.
He closed by saying young Nigerians deserved both the truth about Lekki and an economy in which work could lead somewhere, adding that six years on, the APC had had enough time to answer for its record.
Police teargas 2 Lagos guber candidates, others at Lekki Tollgate
Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the police fired tear gas on Tuesday morning to scatter crowds gathered at the Lekki tollgate for an #EndSARS memorial event.
Two governorship candidates, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour and Funso Doherty, were among those caught in the tear gas dispersal.
The Enough is Enough movement organised the commemoration, but police disrupted it before participants could lay wreaths.
Source: Legit.ng