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Officers of the Nigerian Army on Saturday appeared before the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry Inaugurated to probe the shooting of peaceful #EndSaRS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate area of Lagos State on October 20.
Speaking on behalf of the Army, Brigadier Ahmed Taiwo, Commander 81 military intelligence brigade which was reported to be unit deployed to the Lekki area claimed that the military fired shots into the air and not at protesters, backing its claim with several footages of what happened at the scene, Channels reports.
He added that the officers used blank bullets that contain gun powder, and unable to inflict injury to the flesh. He said that if real bullets were used, one bullet was capable of killing three persons per shot.
According to him, hoodlums went on to vandalise the toll gate plaza after the soldiers left the area.
Recounting the events of the night, Brigadier Taiwo said that the shooting was occasioned by the #EndSARS protest and its degeneration to lawlessness on October 18.
The head of the military delegation said that the breakdown of law made the Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu to invite the army to interfere in the crisis and due to the urgency of the situation, the governor imposed a 24-hour curfew which was to start at 4:00 pm on October 20 but was afterwards shifted to 9:00 pm.
Taiwo, however, claimed that the Army were not informed of the time, and troops were deployed immediately upon receipt of the signal to activate phase 4, implying immediate deployment of soldiers outside the barrack to restore normalcy.
He insisted that the military did not just deploy troops to the Lekki tollgate but to other areas like Badagry, Ikorodu, Apapa, Alimosho, Epe, Lagos Island and the entire state to restore normalcy.
This post was written by Obiajulu Joel Nwolu.
The views expressed here belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect our views and opinions.