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The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) has urged the Federal Government to assist the Lagos State Government in rebuilding assets destroyed by hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protest.
Peaceful #EndSARS protesters were shot by Nigerian soldiers in Lekki, Lagos, providing hoodlums the opportunity to loot and destroy public and private assets, including police stations.
The extent of the damage is yet to be ascertained, though the House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila said the state needs N1 trillion to rebuild destroyed properties.
Due to this, the LCCI said Federal Government’s support has become necessary in view of the current challenging economic conditions that Lagos State is already grappling with.
“That the Federal and Lagos state governments should collaborate to provide support (in the form of grants) to all the victims of the unfortunate outcomes of the protest and the subsequent attacks and destruction of properties and assets,” Toki Mabogunje, president of the LCCI, said in a statement on Monday.
She recommended that families of all those who lost their loved ones be adequately compensated, urging banks to which some of the victims were indebted to demonstrate and uncommon compassion towards them in respect of their indebtedness.
She said as corporate and individual citizens, this is the time to demonstrate a culture of compassion in being ‘our brother’s keeper’ by supporting victims of the unfortunate incident.
“We note the setting up of the Judicial Panels of Inquiry in various states to investigate the circumstances that led to this unfortunate incidence with a view to avoiding a repeat of such occurrences in the future,” Mabogunje said.
She urged all citizens that have suffered from all forms of police brutality and injustice to cooperate with the Lagos State Government to bring about restitution and some form of closure on the unfortunate incidences. “We believe there are lessons to be learnt by all concerned – protesters, the government, security agencies and citizens. We should sustain the status of our country as the biggest economy on the African continent; and preserve the status of Lagos as a leading commercial city in Africa and the commercial hub of the West African sub-region.”
“We should collectively strengthen our resilience, build an inclusive economy and deepen citizen engagement,” she further said.
