“You Would’ve Been Shot” – Aisha Yesufu Slams Onanuga Over ‘Shoot-at-Sight’ Comment
Human rights activist and co-convener of the BringBackOurGirls movement, Aisha Yesufu, has strongly criticised the Special Adviser to President Bola Tinubu on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, over his controversial “shoot at sight” comment on vandals.
In a statement shared on her verified X handle on Sunday, Yesufu described Onanuga and those who share his views as “the worst species of citizens,” arguing that such rhetoric undermines the rule of law and basic human rights.
Yesufu maintained that the individuals the presidential aide referred to are, in many cases, victims of what she described as the current administration’s “depravity, unconscionable and insatiable greed.”
“Without rule of law, justice and the right to fair hearing, you and those you work for would also have since been shot, and these citizens might not have had to resort to the hideous criminality they are alleged to be engaging in,” she wrote.
She further accused the government of inflicting widespread hardship on Nigerians, insisting that this, rather than criminal intent alone, fuels acts of vandalism.
“What is more hideous than how you and the illegitimacy you work for have destroyed the lives of hundreds of millions for your selfish, myopic and greedy interests!” she added.
Warning against normalising extreme measures, Yesufu said such statements could signal dangerous intentions within government circles.
“For him to talk about shoot on sight, don’t be surprised that it is now part of their discussions and what they plan to do,” she wrote.
Recall that Onanuga’s remarks followed the circulation of a video showing alleged vandals damaging materials at a federal highway construction site, prompting his call for immediate execution of offenders.
