EndSARS: Lagos govt invited us to the streets – Army

By Nasir Ayitogo

The army also said it did not shoot at the Lekki protesters.

The Nigerian Army has said that it was invited to enforce the curfew in Lagos by the state government.
The army also said it did not shoot at protesters in Lekki, Lagos.

The army stated this, on Tuesday, in a statement by its 81 Division in Lagos. The statement was signed by its spokesperson, Osoba Olaniyi.

PREMIUM TIMES reported how protests in various parts of the country turned violent last week after the army shot at peaceful protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos.

Hoodlums have since taken advantage of the situation to attack private and public properties.

Some of the properties destroyed by the hoodlums were buses and a bus station, media houses and police stations.

Asides Lagos, properties were also looted and destroyed in Ondo, Jos, Kano, Plateau, Abuja and other parts if the country.

RULES OF ENGAGEMENT
Mr Adeniyi while explaining the role played by the army at the Lekki toll gate insisted that they acted within the confines of the Rules of Engagement for Internal Security operations.

He also maintained that soldiers did not shoot at the #EndSARS protesters in Lagos.

In the statement titled “Press release on alleged massacre of protesters at Lekki toll gate,” Mr Olaniyi described the allegations of soldiers shooting at protesters as untrue, adding that no soldier fired a shot at the protesters.

“The attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to a viral video on social media in which it was alleged that civilians protesters were massacred by soldiers at Lekki toll plaza.”

“This allegation is untrue, unfounded and aimed at causing anarchy in the country. At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian.”

“From the onset of the ENDSARS protest, there was no time personnel of 81 Division Nigerian Army Lagos, were involved.”

“However, the decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government after a 24 hours curfew was imposed.”

“This was as a result of the violence which led to several police stations being burnt, policemen killed, suspects in police custody released and weapons carted away.”

Leave a Reply

Specify Facebook App ID and Secret in the Super Socializer > Social Login section in the admin panel for Facebook Login to work

Specify Instagram App ID and Instagram App Secret in the Super Socializer > Social Login section in the admin panel for Instagram Login to work

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *