The Nigerian Army was unhappy that Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, denied inviting soldiers to the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, Brigadier General Ahmed Taiwo, told the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Saturday.
Taiwo, who testified before the panel, said the Army was also unhappy that the governor said two persons died from the military operation at the tollgate.
He noted that inviting the army was the best decision the governor could have taken given the burning of police stations and looting of firearms and ammunition, killing of policemen, blockage of roads and extortion of money from innocent citizens by hoodlums who hijacked the #EndSARS protest.
Taiwo also noted that the Sanwo-Olu had to invited soldiers after the police was overrun by the hoodlums.
He said, “There are two things the Nigerian Army is not happy about. First is his denial that he asked us to intervene. I spoke with the governor and said Army was unhappy that he said he did not ask the Army to intervene.
“But I am sure that after you watched everything (video footages), you saw he had more than enough grounds to ask for Army’s intervention; perhaps it was the way everything went.
“The second was that he said two people died and he said, yes, one person died at Admiralty Road due to blunt force trauma. Admiralty Road is about 3 Kilometres from that place (Lekki tollgate).”
Pointing out that the situation in Lagos was reminiscent of the Liberian Civil War, he added, “It was these incidents that made the governor of Lagos State to 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 dear lives.”
According to Taiwo, Sanwo-Olu first called the Commander of the 9 Brigade, who told him that he had to follow the correct procedure by contacting the Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Tukur Buratai, and the General Officer Commanding.
He said Sanwo-Olu subsequently called Buratai, the GOC and the Chief of Staff to the President.
“He called the Chief of Army Staff, following which 81 Division, Nigerian Army was ordered into Phase four of internal security operation. The call was in the afternoon, before 4:00 pm,” Taiwo added.
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