#EndSARS: Level of destruction witnessed in Lagos pure evil, says el- Rufai

Kaduna State governor, Malam Nasir el-Rufai, on Thursday, described the gravity of the destruction witnessed in Lagos, following the hijack of peaceful #EndSARS protests by hoodlums as “pure evil,” saying he nearly shed tears as he flipped through the images of the affected torched public and privately- owned assets.

This was as the Kaduna helmsman said that the state governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, did all that was needed to prevent the recent youth protest against police brutality from degenerating to violence, but those who thrived in violence infiltrated the protest to achieve their agenda of wreaking large-scale destruction on public assets and infrastructure in the state.

El-Rufai shared the thoughts when he visited the State House, Marina to commiserate with his Lagos State counterpart over the sad incidence, lamenting that Lagos, which accounted for one-third of national Gross Domestic Product (GDP), did not deserve to suffer such pain.

According to him, the young people who carried out the violence intentionally engaged in act of “self-destruction,” stressing that the repercussion of the action would be felt by them.

He, however, assured that Kaduna was ready to offer whatever support to ensure Lagos was back on track.

“I have spent time to see some of the pictures of the destruction done on public properties in Lagos and I nearly shed tears. Anyone who cares about development and progress will cry after seeing what has been done to public facilities and people’s investment that provided jobs to youths.

“While expressing anger on police brutality may be right, but destroying public properties, which will have to be rebuilt using money that is needed to invest in other public infrastructure, under the guise of protest is nothing but self-destruction. The government of Lagos and the Federal Government will have to re-invest scarce resources that could have been used for other things to rebuild the vandalised facilities.

“As a colleague, I can confirm that the governor of Lagos did all that could be done to ensure that this destruction does not take place. It is very sad to see what had happened in Lagos. I want to assure you that we will support you getting Lagos back on track. We will give whatever support Lagos needs from us to get back better,” El-Rufai said.

The Kaduna governor, while acknowledging that the youth protest against the police was not out of order, posited that it was wrong for the protesters to call for disbandment of the entire police force because of the action of a few bad eggs within the system.

He sympathised with the police and those who lost loved ones in Lagos in the wake of the violence, saying the Federal Government must not allow wanton destruction of public assets to happen again.

Sanwo-Olu said although Lagos had started to look forward and engage in new partnerships towards restoring the lost assets, but vowed to make the state uncomfortable for those with the intention to destroy its economy and heritage.

Sanwo-Olu assured that the state government remained committed to getting justice for those who were brutalised by the disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) team of the police.

He thanked el-Rufai for the extension of support towards rebuilding the state, welcoming all forms of assistance that could be rendered to keep the flourishing businesses in the state.

Sanwo-Olu, who intimated his Kaduna counterpart of steps already taken to rebuild Lagos, said the state government was taking the step to support those whose businesses were destroyed and create an ambience for commercial activities to get back stronger.

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