The Nigerian Army is testifying on its involvement in the shooting and killing of peaceful #ENDSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on the 20th of October 2020.
General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo of 81 Division Intelligence Brigade testified on behalf of the military.
He confirmed a report by SaharaReporters that the military were drafted in by Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu.
He claimed that the protest was hijacked by hoodlums and the military intervened to stop the killing of police officers as well as the looting and raping of citizens in the name of #EndSARS.
He, however, added that the killings took place all over Lagos excluding Ikoyi and Victoria Island.
LIVE: @HQNigerianArmy Testifies Before Lagos Judicial Panel Over Killing Of Protesters At Lekki Toll Gate | Sahara Reporters#LekkiMassacre #LekkiTollGateShooting #EndSARS
WATCH LIVE: https://t.co/gqw9G7aTAH pic.twitter.com/zLDASzB6LU— Sahara Reporters (@SaharaReporters) November 14, 2020
Testifying before the panel, General Taiwo said, “On 20th of October 2020, Lagos State descended into anarchy
“Sanwo-Olu asked the army to intervene and that was the correct thing to do since the police had been overrun.”
Taiwo claimed that on arrival at Lekki Toll Gate, protesters were pelting stones at the army as he reinforced the point that the army used blank shots and only fired into the air.
The army representatives played videos of the incident before the Lekki incident as well as videos from the toll gate to back the position of the military.
SaharaReporters had revealed that about a dozen people were killed by the military and corpses were taken away.
Survivors had also revealed that some protesters jumped into a river to escape the shooting by the military.
