The Commander of the Intelligence Brigade of the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army, Brigadier General Ibrahim Taiwo has been speaking during cross-examination at the judicial panel of Inquiry and Restitution for EndSARS victims sitting in Lagos.
The cross-examination follows Brigadier Taiwo’s testimony at the panel last Saturday, regarding the shooting by the military at the toll gate during the EndSARS protest on October 20, 2020.
Brigadier Taiwo is being cross examined by counsels to victims of EndSARS victims Olumide Fisika and Adesina Ogunlana.
He agrees that the soldiers were at the toll gate to maintain peace and order having been called out when the police were overwhelmed by activities of hoodlums but maintains that only blank bullets were shot into the air to disperse the protesters and that no protester died or sustained injury from the shots.
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When reminded that Governor Sanwaolu had earlier admitted that only two people died, but several others sustained injuries from the gun shots, he responded that the governor may have been misinformed.
On further interrogation that the army had earlier in a tweet from its verified tweeter handle denied being at the toll gate on the 20th of October, describing the viral online videos as fake news, Taiwo said the initial statement was made because the army did not have all the facts of the incident at their disposal at the time.
He feigned ignorance of the tweeter handle of the army, adding that he does not have a tweeter handle himself.
(Editor: Ifeanyi Mark)
