Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State on Thursday confirmed two deaths from the Lekki shooting that occurred on Tuesday night.
The governor disclosed this in an interview with Arise TV during an exclusive interview.
Sanwo-Olu had earlier said there was no death from the Lekki shooting as the time he visited injured victims at various hospitals in the state.
On Wednesday, however, Sanwo-Olu said one death was recorded in the hospital but the state was still investigating whether it was as a result of the shooting.
“Information reaching us now is that a life was lost at Reddington Hospital due to blunt force trauma to the head. It is an unfortunate and very sad loss. This is an isolated case. We are still investigating if he was a protester,” he posted on his Twitter handle.
Read #EndSARS: Buhari addresses Nigerians, keeps mum on shooting of unarmed Lekki protesters
On Thursday, Sanwo-Olu said two deaths have now been confirmed among the protesters in Lekki. It is unclear whether the patient he formerly posted about is among the confirmed deaths.
Security operatives had around around 7 p.m. on Tuesday opened fire on unarmed protesters who were holding a peaceful protest at Lekki toll gate in the state.
The unfortunate incident had attracted both nationwide and worldwide condemnation.
The #EndSARS protest, a campaign against police brutality and for the reform of the police, has been holding in different states of Nigeria for more than two weeks.
The protesters at the Lekki toll gate had been protesting peacefully for about a week before Tuesday’s incident, which has been condemned locally and internationally, including by Mr Sanwo-Olu.
The Lekki protesters remained peaceful and well organised with the protesters even clearing their garbage while other protests in some parts of the country had turned violent, mainly after security officials attacked protesters.
As against Governor Sanwo-Olu’s declaration, Amnesty International estimates that 12 people died from the Lekki shooting and a similar one in Alausa, Ikeja.
Sanwo-Olu who condemned the attack immediately it occurred said he was not involved in the deployment of the soldiers.
“I don’t know how the officers got it all wrong because the instruction was that police won’t be out until 10-10:30 p.m. when all citizens should have gotten to their various homes. This is totally against what we stand for.
“The army does not report to me, I have reported the matter to the highest command in the military,” he said.
