The Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, Brig. General Ahmed Taiwo, has said Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu inviting the military during the EndSARS protest was the best decision the Governor could have taken.
He said this on Saturday while appearing before the Lagos State Panel of Inquiry set up to get justice for victims of police brutality and also to probe the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki tollgate on the night of October 20, 2020.
Taiwo said against the background of burning of police stations and looting of arms and ammunition; the killing of policemen, blockage of roads and extortion of money from innocent citizens by hoodlums, inviting the military was the best decision.
Brigadier Taiwo, while showing the panel the footage of a scene where a mob killed someone, set the body ablaze and hoodlums were talking about sharing body parts, said the anarchy was reminiscent of the Liberian war.
He said, “These scenes are reminiscent of the Liberian Civil War when the fighters believed that once they consume human body parts, they would be fortified, they would be strong.
READ ALSO: We Did Not Shoot Lekki Protesters- Army
“It was these incidents that made the Governor of Lagos State ask for military intervention and in my opinion, that was the correct thing to do since the police had been overrun and policemen were fighting for their dear lives.”
The governor imposed a 24-hour curfew which was to commence at 4:00 pm on October 20 but was later shifted to 9:00 pm.
According to him, the time was not communicated to the Nigerian Army, and troops were deployed immediately upon receipt of the signal to activate phase 4, meaning immediate deployment of soldiers outside the barrack to help control the crisis of internal security.
He insists that the troops were not only deployed to the Lekki tollgate, but to other areas like Badagry, Ikorodu, Apapa, Alimosho, Epe, Lagos Island and the entire state to restore normalcy.
READ ALSO: Nigerian Army Denies Involvement In Lekki #EndSARS Shooting
Brigadier Taiwo added that the army were shooting into the air at the Lekki tollgate and not at the protesters, backing his statement up with several video clips of what he says transpired that night.
Furthermore, he claimed that after the soldiers left the area, hoodlums went on to destroy the toll gate plaza.
He also insisted that the troops used blank bullets that contain gun powder, and cannot cause any damage to the flesh, and if real bullets were used one bullet would have killed three persons per shot
