- Malami contradicts Army, Lagos State government who have admitted soldiers were deployed with due process
Attorney General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, on Monday said that it is likely that hoodlums wearing military fatigues, and not soldiers, shot #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate in Lagos State on Tuesday October 20, 2020.
Speaking with journalists on Monday in Abuja, Malami said investigation is underway to ascertain what truly happened at the Lekki Tollgate.
Malami said it was “pre-emptive” to conclude that there had even been shootings, adding that “hoodlums” may have been hired to create a scene.
“You cannot rule out the possibility of perhaps hoodlums that set in to create a scene… could equally partake in the process,” the Minister said.
Malami’s new position muddled up the messaging of the federal government and its agencies especially the Nigerian Army.
A former spokesman of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Sani Kukasheka Usman (rtd), said during a live interview with Arise TV on Thursday, October 29 that Nigerian soldiers were deployed but did not fire live bullets at protesters during the Lekki Tollgate incident.
According to General Usman, “if you look at the canisters, they were blank ammo and blank ammo don’t even kill. At a close range, l – maybe 100-metres – maybe it will have some pigmentation on your skin.
“Remember the military are armed and by the nature of their training, they are trained to kill and I think the military in its wisdom instead of using live ammunition decided to use blank armour which is meant for training.
“I think they should be commended for that otherwise there would have been serious collateral damage, but they were professional enough to have done that.”
The Nigerian Army came under heavy criticism over how its personnel, while enforcing the curfew imposed by the Lagos State government, shot peaceful protesters at the Lekki Tollgate on October 20, 2020, killing some and leaving others with varying degrees of injury.
The Army, in a tweet on October 21, initially denied that its personnel were at the scene of the shootings, describing the report as ‘fake news.’
But, following evidence and pressure from different individuals and groups, the Army later admitted that its personnel were at the scene but were invited by the State government. This contrasted the earlier submission of the State Governor, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who in the morning of October 21 blamed the shootings on “forces beyond our direct control.”
The Army denied shooting the protesters while the Governor also said no one was killed in the exercise.
Global human rights group, Amnesty International, however said it had evidence that no fewer than 12 protesters were killed at the Lekki tollgate and Alausa areas of the State.
“The situation was fast degenerating into anarchy. It was at this point that the Lagos State Government requested the military to intervene, in order to restore normalcy. The intervention of the military followed all laid down procedures for internal security operations. And all the soldiers involved acted within the confines of the Rules of Engagement for internal security operations.”
An entertainer, Obianuju Ude otherwise called DJ Switch, one of the visible EndSARS protesters who was at the scene later released a video where she claimed that no fewer than 15 persons were killed. She added that the soldiers took away the corpses in their vans.
She pointed out that policemen were also involved in the shooting. The outcry made the governor to extend the terms of reference of the seven-member judicial panel to include investigating the Lekki shootings.
Acting Deputy Director, Army Public Relations and 81 Division’s spokesperson, Major Osoba Olaniyi, said: “From the onset of the #EndSARS protest, there was no time personnel of the 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Lagos was involved. However, the decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government after a 24-hour 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.”