Governor Sanwo-Olu

Commander of the 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Brigadier-General Ahmed Taiwo, has said that the Nigerian Army is unhappy that the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, denied inviting them to come to the Lekki Tollgate area of the state during the #EndSARS protests.

General Taiwo said this on Saturday while addressing members of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the state government to investigate cases of police brutality.

“The Nigerian army was not happy about two things. The first is his (Governor Sanwo-Olu’s) denial that he asked us to intervene when in actual fact, it was the proper thing to do,” he said.

“He called the Chief of Army Staff and the GOC 81 division and asked for intervention because the police had been overrun”.

The Army Commander made the comments after presenting videos to the panel as part of evidence of the violence that had erupted across the state.

“I’m sure that after we have watched everything, we have seen that he had reasonable grounds to ask the army to intervene,” he added.

Governor Sanwo-Olu had earlier denied inviting the military to disperse protesters at the Lekki tollgate on October 20, adding that forces beyond his control were responsible for the Lekki incident.

But the Army Headquarters subsequently said in a statement that the Lagos State government invited the soldiers to the protest ground and that the soldiers acted within the rules of engagement.