Fashola called for troops’ deployment – Defence Headquarters

The Defence Headquarters in Abuja said on Thursday that it was the Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, that called for the deployment of the military in his state.

The military high command said that the decision was not that of its own hierarchy.

This runs contrary to what Fashola said in a speech condemning the deployment of troops to the state.

Fashola had faulted the move of the Federal Government in this regard, saying that the protests in Lagos over the increase in the cost of petrol had been peaceful.

But the Defence Headquarters at a briefing, on Thursday, denied it took the decision to deploy troops in Lagos.

The Director Defence Information, Colonel Mohammed Yerima, said the soldiers deployed were those of the Operation MESA, the military arm of the Rapid Response Squad, which is directly under the watch of Fashola and funded by the Lagos State Government.

Yerima said no soldier was deployed from outside of Lagos State.

He said: “The attention of the Defence Headquarters has been drawn to the unsubstantiated claims by a section of the public alleging that the Federal Government ordered the deployment of troops in Lagos to halt protests against the fuel subsidy removal.

“While the Defence Headquarters do not wish to join issues with any individual or groups regarding the matter, we wish to state categorically, in the interest of the larger society, that there is no element of truth in those claims.

“The soldiers seen on the streets of Lagos are still the same men of the Special Task Force code-named Operation MESA set up and sponsored by the Lagos State government long before the fuel subsidy protest, for the purpose of supporting the civil police in protecting life and property, as is the case in many parts of the country.”