The executive governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has suspended his Senior Special Assistant on print media, Mr. Wale Ajetunmobi.
This was revealed in a statement released on Tuesday by Sanwo-Olu’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Gboyega Akosile.
Ajetunmobi’s suspension “comes on the heels of the misrepresentation of facts on his personal X account on a past incident,” according to the statement.
Akosile noted that the Sanwo-Olu “frowns at any form of extrajudicial punishment and will not be a part of any such action. That is not who we are. That is not our way.”
On Sunday, November 24, 2024, Premium Times reported a tweet by Ajetunmobi, tweeting as #Riddwane, in which he disclosed that the arsonists who burnt down the Television Continental station in Lagos during the heat of the 2020 #EndSARS demonstration had been “hunted down and executed.”
The suspended assistant further alleged that one of the “executed” arsonists was a young child (name unknown) who traded cooking gas in the Ketu area of the state. Ajetunmobi claimed the boy was found holding an AK-47 gun.
The 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: the 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 neighbours were shocked. But the full gist is better saved for later.”
Reacting to the tweet, an X user identified as Hamlad, tweeting as #hamoye4real, asked, “Are you in the know of extra-judicial killings?”
In his response, the Ajetunmobi wrote, “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 an exchange of fire occurred. Then arsonists were overpowered and killed in the process. Others ran away. Is that an extrajudicial killing to you?”
However, in a tweet sent early Tuesday at 2:34 a.m., two days after the report, and quoting the Premium Times report on his X handle, Ajetunmobi clarified that while the word “executed” was “erroneously used,” his tweet was his “personal opinion” and did not reflect the stance of his employer or office.
He also stated that “no extra-judicial killing was insinuated.”
The tweet read, “This excerpt was quoted out of context, and there were a series of comments made under the same post that better explained what was intended. Like I further explained in the said tweet, no extra-judicial killing was insinuated. The word ‘executed’ was erroneously used and not intended in the context of that casual conversation.
“What was written in the entire conversation reflected personal opinion and not the position of any authority or the entity in which I work. The post and other comments had been taken down, even before this publication.”
On October 30, 2020, it was reported that no fewer than 250 staff of TVC at Ikosi, Ketu, Lagos, were unable to work after arsonists burnt the station.
Transmission equipment, cutting-edge studios, production rooms, and TVC operational vehicles, including staff cars, were all set ablaze.
Mr. Andrew Hanlon, the station’s chief executive officer, stated that over 500 direct staff were straining to work in temporary accommodations provided by the corporation.
