Lekki Shooting: We Took Live Bullets To Lekki Tollgate, Says Army – Says Sanwo-Olu Was Misinformed

The Nigerian army says it took live rounds to Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020, when #EndSARS protesters were dispersed after two weeks of converging on the place.

Ibrahim Taiwo, commander of military intelligence, 81 division of the Nigerian Army, spoke while testifying before the judicial panel the Lagos state government set up to probe the incident.

Commenting on the incident while being cross examined by Olumide Fusika, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Taiwo said the live rounds were not used on protesters.

He said they were meant for the protection of the army team that was deployed to restore order in the state.

The army commander said while the soldiers who opened fire used blank bullets, their colleagues with live rounds were on ground to protect from suspected hoodlums who fomented trouble.

“The soldiers there were both given both live and blank bullets. In this particular case, we saw that these protests had been infiltrated by some hoodlums,” he said.

“You had peaceful protesters no doubt. But there were also hoodlums who sought to take advantage. That is why they were armed [with] blank bullets in addition to the live [bullets] they were carrying.”

A CNN investigation indicted the army of firing live bullets directly into the crowd of protesters, reportedly killing some and wounding many.

Controversy trailed the shooting. The army initially denied it sent soldiers to the tollgate, but recanted after Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Lagos governor, said soldiers were at the tollgate on the night of the shooting.

Admitting that its men were present at the tollgate, the army said they were called in on the request of the governor.

While Sanwo-Olu said two protesters died after the incident, Taiwo said the governor was misinformed.

Ibrahim Taiwo, commander of military intelligence, 81 division of the Nigerian Army, says Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, was misinformed about the incident at Lekki tollgate on October 20, 2020.

Sanwo-Olu Was Misinformed, Says Gen Taiwo

Speaking on Saturday while addressing the judicial panel set up to probe the incident, Taiwo said it is not correct to say anyone died as a result of the shooting at the tollgate.
When he featured in ARISE TV one day after the shooting, Sanwo-Olu had said no one died from the incident.
But hours later, he tweeted that he had received information about the death of one person.

“Information reaching us now is that a life was lost at Reddington Hospital due to blunt force trauma to the head. It is an unfortunate and very sad loss. This is an isolated case. We are still investigating if he was a protester,” he posted on his Twitter handle.

One day after, Sanwo-Olu said two deaths had been confirmed among the protesters at Lekki.
But while being cross examined at the panel by Olumide Fusika, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Taiwo said  no one died from the incident.

When Fusika told him about Sanwo-Olu’s position on the incident, Taiwo simply said: “The governor was misinformed.”
Earlier, the panel reviewed a footage of the shooting incident submitted by the Lekki Concession Company (LCC) which manages the tollgate.
The recording captured the incident up to 8pm. The shooting is said to have started about 6:45pm.
Soldiers reportedly opened fire on #EndSARS protesters who had converged on the facility. But the army insists its men only fired blank bullets into the air to disperse the crowd.