Sanwo-Olu Suspends Media Aide Over Comment on #EndSARS Protest

Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended his Senior Special Assistant on Print Media, Mr. Wale Ajetunmobi, following a controversial post on his personal X account (formerly Twitter).

This decision was announced in a statement released on Tuesday by the governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile. The statement, titled ‘Governor Sanwo-Olu Suspends Aide’, cited the suspension as a response to the “misrepresentation of facts” in Ajetunmobi’s post.

Akosile emphasized the administration’s stance, stating, “The Sanwo-Olu-led government frowns at any form of extra-judicial punishment and disassociates itself from such actions. That is not who we are.”

The controversy arose from a post by Ajetunmobi, under the handle #Riddwane, where he claimed that arsonists who set Television Continental (TVC) ablaze during the 2020 #EndSARS protests had been “hunted down and executed.” His post further alleged that one of the individuals, a young trader in Ketu, Lagos, was discovered with an AK-47 rifle.

The original tweet read:
“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: majority of them have been hunted down and executed. One of them, a young boy trading in cooking gas around Ketu, was found with an AK-47 at the site. Even his neighbors were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later.”

This sparked reactions on social media, with one user questioning if the post endorsed extra-judicial killings. Ajetunmobi replied, claiming the incidents involved exchanges of gunfire and were not extra-judicial killings.

Amid backlash, Ajetunmobi later clarified that the word “executed” was “erroneously used” and that his statements were his personal opinions, not reflective of his employer’s position. He deleted the tweet prior to its widespread reporting.

The controversy has reignited discussions about the 2020 arson at TVC during the #EndSARS protests. Over 250 staff members were displaced, and critical infrastructure, including state-of-the-art studios, production rooms, and vehicles, was destroyed. TVC’s CEO, Andrew Hanlon, revealed that the incident left over 500 employees struggling to resume normal operations.

Governor Sanwo-Olu visited the station after the incident, condemning the attack and pledging support for affected workers and management.