Brig.-Gen. Musa Etsu-Ndagi, the Commander, 9 Brigade, Nigerian Army, representing the Nigerian Army on the Lagos State Security Council, has revealed that he received a phone call from the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, around 7:23pm on October 20, 2020, informing him that a certain Lt. Col. Bello was reportedly shooting at the Lekki toll gate, where the peaceful EndSARS protesters were gathered,
Etsu-Ndagi said that he immediately called Bello, who is the Commanding Officer, 65 Battalion, Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, and he (Bello) told him that he only fired blank ammunition into the air.
Etsu-Ndagi, who is one of the top four Military Officers listed as Witnesses of the Nigerian Army before the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry probing the Lekki toll gate shootings, disclosed this in his statement on oath filed at the Panel’s Registry, on Friday.
The top Nigerian Army Officers insisted that Soldiers never shot at or killed anyone, and there was no massacre at the Lekki toll gate, on the night of October 20.
They vehemently denied using live ammunition on the peaceful EndSARS protesters who gathered at the toll gate, adding that, Soldiers did not take any dead bodies away.
Bello said that the protesters were in fact, happy to see the Soldiers at the tol lgate, adding that, he personally offered the protesters water and drinks, while persuading them to go home and observe the 24-hour curfew declared by the Lagos State Government.
The other Army Officers who deposed to witness statements before the Panel, are the Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Taiwo; the Chief of Staff, 81 Division, Nigerian Army, VI, Lagos, Brig. Gen. Nsikak Edet; Commander, 81 Division Garrison, VI, Brig. Gen. Francis Omata.
Specifically, Omata and Bello told the Panel that by the time they arrived at the toll gate, the protest had turned from peaceful to violent.
They revealed that on arrival at the toll gate, they were being pelted with stones and broken bottles, and that in response, all they did was fire blank ammunition into the air to disperse the crowd.
Omata said: “On arrival at the tollgate at about 7:30pm, I met a rowdy situation. I also met the Commanding Officer, 65 Battalion (Bello), who briefed me on the situation. He briefed me that he met a hostile crowd, hoodlums mixed with the protesters, who were chanting and throwing stones at them. I was able to disperse the crowd by firing blank ammunition into the air.
“At this point, stones and sticks were being thrown at us. Then I moved to a safe area and briefed General Officer Commanding 81 Division, Maj. Gen. Godwin Ahamefuna Umelo by phone.
“The General Officer Commanding directed me to pacify the hostile crowd, and move the troops back to base. However, the crowd still continued chanting EndSARS. I then instructed the troops to withdraw to base.”
Giving his own account of the incident, Bello said that while he was moving towards the Lekki-Ajah Expressway, at around 6:45pm, he heard gunshots before the toll gate and on coming down, he saw that “the crowd had turned from peaceful protesters to a mob, infiltrated by hoodlums”.
His words: “On getting to the toll gate, I persuaded the crowd to go home and observe the 24-hours curfew declared by the State Government. But surprisingly, the hoodlums continued throwing stones, bottles, and other dangerous objects at us, and were burning tyres. I again fired some blank ammunition upward to scare the hoodlums away. But some protesters who were still at the tollgate sitting down quietly, were given water and drinks by me, while pleading with them to go home.
“We did not fire at the protesters. Blank ammunition were fired upward to scare the hoodlums from the crowd. Nobody was shot dead at the Lekki toll gate, there was no massacre as claimed. The claim that the Military took away dead bodies was not true. The protesters were happy to see us as indicated in some of the video clips of 20th October 2020.”
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