Dada Olusegun, Special Assistant to President Bola Tinubu on Social Media, has criticised former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar over his comments on the 2020 Lekki Toll Gate shooting and the economic challenges facing Nigerians.
Olusegun, who also serves as National Convener of the PBAT Media Centre, accused Atiku, the African Democratic Congress (ADC) presidential candidate for the 2027 election, of exploiting the tragedy for political purposes and pursuing what he described as an insincere ambition to become president.
In a post on X, Olusegun questioned why Atiku waited six years after the incident to demand answers, arguing that he had opportunities to raise the issue during his visits to former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2024 and 2025.
Atiku had released a statement titled, “Six Years After Lekki, The APC Still Owes Nigerians Answers And Young People A Future,” to mark the sixth anniversary of the shooting. He demanded to know who ordered security operatives to shoot peaceful protesters and criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) over the country’s worsening economic situation.
Responding, Olusegun described Atiku’s position as a political stunt and recalled his visits to Buhari, who was president when the Lekki incident occurred.
“In case you have forgotten, we have not. On the 22nd of June 2024, you visited late former President Buhari in his hometown of Daura,” Olusegun said.
“Less than a year later, on the 11th of April 2025, you visited him again at his retirement home in Kaduna, renovated by President Tinubu.
“Those two opportunities presented you with chances to ask former President Buhari, who was President at the time of the Lekki Toll Gate protests, the questions you are now asking President Tinubu.”
Olusegun further argued that Atiku’s delay in raising the questions demonstrated insincerity and desperation for political power.
“That it took you six years to ask these questions is a testament to your insincerity and desperation to become President. Nigerians are not fools, they know you do not care about them; you only care about your inordinate ambition.”
The presidential aide also defended Tinubu, maintaining that the president was a private citizen when the shooting occurred in 2020 and suffered significant personal losses during the unrest that followed the protests.
“His Bourdillon home was almost razed, and he and his domestic staff fled for safety. He was harassed, cyberbullied, insulted, and cursed,” Olusegun stated.
He also challenged Atiku’s use of the expression “Lekki Massacre,” arguing that a massacre had not been conclusively established through legal proceedings.
“Forensic evidence and multi-agency investigations heavily contradicting the initial social media casualty figures,” he said.
Olusegun described attempts to associate Tinubu with responsibility for the tragedy as unfair, arguing that the president himself suffered financial and political consequences from the unrest.
“Twisting the complex tragedy of 2020 to pin it on a man who was himself a primary financial and political victim of the fallout is uncharitable and mean-spirited,” he said.
“This constant mudslinging is a transparent attempt to dust off your failed ‘Economic Recovery Plan’ and hijack historical grief for campaign leverage. This is your final attempt at the Presidency of Nigeria, and it is tragic to watch you throw everything against the wall just to see what sticks.”
