Ahmed Taiwo, a brigadier general of the Nigerian Army has expressed displeasure over Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu’s denial of his alleged invitation to the military, seeking assistance for the restoration of peace and order in Lagos State during the #EndSARS protest.
He made the disclosure during his appearance before the Lagos judicial panel on Saturday.
While making his deposition, he stated that the governor requested military assistance on October 20, after the protest became uncontainable.
Taiwo said, “I spoke with the governor and said the army was unhappy that he said he did not ask the army to intervene. But I’m sure, after we’ve watched everything, we saw he had more than reasonable grounds to ask the army to intervene,” he said.
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Following the outrage that trailed the Lekki tollgate incident, Sanwo-Olu blamed it on “forces beyond his direct control”.
“This is the toughest night of our lives as forces beyond our direct control have moved to make dark notes in our history, but we will face it and come out stronger,” the governor had said in a statement.
Prior to the revelation, the Army Headquarters had denied involvement any involvement in the shooting of unarmed protesters. The federal government said it would investigate the tragic incident.
Speaking on the Lekki Tollgate shooting, Sanwo-Olu told CNN: “From the footage we could see, because there were some cameras at that facility, it seems to me that they would be men in military uniform—it should be Nigerian Army or something.”
When asked if he meant the military opened fire on protesters, his response was: “Yes. That’s what the footage showed.”
