The Nigerian Army on Saturday has revealed that Lagos State governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu invited them during the #EndSARS protest in Lagos when the mobile police have ran away in order to avoid total anarchy.
Brigadier-General Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo stated this in his testimony at the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS related abuses and other matters.
Taiwo is the Commander, 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island.
The panel is also probing the Lekki toll plaza shooting by soldiers on October 20, 2020.
The senior officer reminded Nigerians that the situation in Lagos had gotten out of control.
The General cited the killing of police officers, burning of stations, and looting of armouries.
Taiwo recalled that it got to a point where hoodlums blocked several roads and extorted citizens.
He showed the panel a video of how a mob killed someone, set the body on fire and discussed sharing the body parts.
Taiwo noted that the scenes are reminiscent of the Liberian Civil War “when the fighters believed that once they consume the human body, they would be fortified”.
“It was these incidents that made the Governor of Lagos State 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 their dear lives.”
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.
