The Nigerian Army on Saturday denied using live ammunition on unarmed #EndSARS protesters during the alleged October 20 shooting at the Lekki Tollgate before the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry.
The Nigerian Army made the denial before the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters.
Brigadier General Ahmed Taiwo, Commander of the 81 Division, Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, who testified on behalf of the Nigerian Army, said the military fired blank ammunition into the air to disperse protesters on the night of the alleged shooting.
Taiwo, who gave a presentation to the panel with the use of a projector, played a footage which showed soldiers standing in front of singing protesters and firing their weapons into the air.
He said there would have been a lot of fatalities if the 600m live ammunition normally used by the military were used to disperse the #EndSARS protesters.
He said: “I have been in the Army since 1986 and you cannot be under fire and be singing.
“The entry hole for the 600m is thin, while the exit is wide.
“If it hits you in the chest or the bowels, the intestine comes down.
“I am an expert in ammunition having spent so long in the Army.
“Blank ammunition is slower and can do no damage to the flesh and you have nothing to fear except you take a rifle, put it against your eye and fire.
“Even if you put it against your skin and fire you will only have burn marks.”
Taiwo said troops had managed to disperse most of the #EndSARS protesters and even shared drinks from protesters who had remained at the Lekki Tollgate.
He said he was monitoring the situation on the internet and that it was after the departure of the soldiers that hoodlums set the tollgate on fire.
He said non-kinetic (non violent) means was used in the Army’s rules of engagement during the protests.
Following his revelation, Taiwo, through the counsel of the Nigerian Army, Akinlolu Kehinde (SAN), presented four spent blank ammunition to the panel as evidence.
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