The Nigerian Army has said that it will keep the identities of the soldiers deployed to the Lekki toll gate, stating that it was “against operational security” to do so.
Recall that Afriupdate had earlier reported that Protesters at the Lekki toll gate on October 10, 2020, were shot at by men of the military, killing a few and injuring several others.
The incident dubbed the #LekkiMassacre sparked outrage across the country and internationally, with many upbraiding the military over the abuse of human rights.
Although the military initially denied reports that men of the Nigerian Army had anything to do with the incident, it later said that there had been a directive to disperse the protesters.
![[FILE] A proterster raise the Nigerian national flag along with an EndSars flag during a protest to commemorate one anniversary of EndSars, a protest movement against police brutality at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos, on October 20, 2021. – Hundreds of youth match to commemorate one year anniversary of Endars protest that rocked the major cities across the country on October 20, 2020. (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)](https://www.afriupdate.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/000_9Q26WJ-scaled-e1643856450254.jpg "FG gets #EndSARS report two years after, promises implementation 3")
“At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian. From the onset of the EndSARS protest, there was no time personnel of 81 Division Nigerian Army Lagos were involved,” the military had said.
The military disclosed that the Lagos State Government had called the military to quell the agitation at the Lekki toll gate.
“However, the decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government (LASG) 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. The situation was fast degenerating into anarchy. It was at this point that LASG requested for the military to intervene in order to restore normalcy.
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“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 (ROE) for Internal Security operations.”
Spokesman for the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Osoba Olaniyi, said in an interview, “It is against operational security. We don’t give that. It is against the policy of operational security. There is no problem here. The picture some people paint, as if we are fighting with the state government, is wrong.”
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