The army spokesperson, who shared the article on some Whatsapp platforms he belonged to, justified the deployment and use of live ammunition on the evening of October 20 against the Lekki Toll Gate protesters, who had been at the demonstration for more than a week without any violence.
Col Sagir Musa, spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, on Sunday posted an article labelling the Lekki Toll Gate protesters in Lagos State as “lawless, recalcitrant and a bunch of cowards.”
The army spokesperson, who shared the article on some Whatsapp platforms he belonged to, justified the deployment and use of live ammunition on the evening of October 20 against the Lekki Toll Gate protesters, who had been at the demonstration for more than a week without any violence.
In the article shared by Musa and obtained by SaharaReporters, the writer, one Zara Onyinye, believed to be a pseudonym, mocked Nigerians, who were questioning the rationale behind the deployment of live and blank ammunition to the Lekki Toll Gate.
The article shared by the army spokesman partly reads, “The Nigerian Army left their barracks with the needed tools; guns, blank bullets, live bullets and vehicles to disperse the lawless and recalcitrant protesters. They got to the toll gate area and discovered that the protesters were just a bunch of cowards.
“They fired blank bullets into the air and this sent jitters down the spine of many of them. They picked races. Many did not stop until they reached Ajah and beyond.
“Those that are reaching petulant orgasm because the army said they went to the Lekki Toll Gate with blank and live bullets are the dumbest human beings I have ever known. Did they expect the army to go to the protest ground with sticks and stones?
“What if everything turned out extremely violent? Oh, they should run back to the barracks to reinforce with better equipment, right? You must be kidding.”
In the article as shared by the army spokesperson, the writer added that some Nigerians chose “to remain illiterates forever” by castigating the army over its actions on the Lekki Toll Gate incident.
Musa, since the October 20 incident, has not responded to any media inquiry – since the initial question of whether soldiers were deployed to the scene or not.
The Nigerian Army had relied on a former spokesperson, Brig Gen Sani Usman (retd.), in its efforts to justify the October 20 action to Nigerians and to the world.
Recall that the hitherto peaceful EndSARS protest in the Lekki Toll Gate area turned to a blood bath on the evening of October 20 when soldiers from Bonny Camp, Victoria Island, opened fire on the protesters.
The military men reportedly killed and injured several protesters.