The Nigerian Army has insisted that soldiers did not shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate area of Lagos State.
Although they admitted that soldiers were deployed to ‘restore normalcy’ in the area, the Acting Deputy Director, 81 Division, Army Public Relations, Osoba Olaniyi in a statement on Tuesday, described reports of a massacre by the officers as “untrue, unfounded, and aimed at causing anarchy in the country”.
Olaniyi also stated that the decision to involve the military was taken by the Lagos State Government after a 24-hour curfew was imposed.
“This was a result of the violence which led to several police stations being burnt, policemen killed, suspects in police custody released, and weapons carted away.
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“The situation was fast degenerating into anarchy. It was at this point that the LASG requested for the military to intervene in order to restore normalcy,” the statement read in part.
