Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended Wale Ajetunmobi, his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, following controversial comments made on his social media account.
Ajetunmobi, in a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter) dated November 23, claimed that several individuals involved in the 2020 arson attack on Television Continental (TVC) during the #EndSARS protests had been “hunted down and executed.”
“The full story of people who burnt down TVC in 2020 will be told one day, with gory clips and images. One thing to note: the majority of them have been hunted down and executed,” Ajetunmobi wrote. He added that one of the alleged perpetrators was a young gas trader found with an AK-47 at the scene, shocking his neighbors.
The comments, which were made in response to a post referencing remarks by Reuben Abati, sparked significant backlash. When questioned by another user about the implications of his statement, particularly regarding alleged extra-judicial killings, Ajetunmobi denied the accusation, stating:
“Lol… you want to create a narrative in your head. What is extra-judicial killing here? Some of the people were chased by soldiers, and exchange of fire occurred. Then arsonists were overpowered and killed in the process. Others ran away. Is that an extra-judicial killing to you?”
The incident prompted swift action from Governor Sanwo-Olu, whose media aide, Gboyega Akosile, issued a statement addressing the matter.
“Mr. Ajetunmobi’s suspension comes on the heels of the misrepresentation of facts on his personal X account about a past incident,” the statement read. “The Governor wishes to state categorically that his administration frowns at any form of extra-judicial punishment and will not be a part of any such action. That is not who we are. That is not our way.”
