Lekki shooting: Oduduwa descendants declare support for troops

The Coalition of Oduduwa Descendants (COD) have absolved the Nigerian Army of any wrongdoing at Lekki toll gate or any part of the country during the #EndSARS protests. 

In a statement signed by Kolawole Emmanuel, general-secretary, on Monday, the Oduduwa group said the troops acted in the best interest of the nation.

According to the COD, the intervention of the army was timely to quell the imminent collapse and save the country from anarchy.

While declaring total support for the troops who they said remain committed to the preservation of democracy in Nigeria, the Coalition of Oduduwa Descendants called on all well-meaning citizens to do likewise.

The statement below:

The Coalition of Oduduwa Descendants in light of the recent happenings in the country states that the efforts of the Nigerian Army in the restoration of law and order in the country are indeed commendable and cannot be overemphasized.  

We are all witness to the wanton looting of public and private properties by hoodlums and other criminal elements. We also witnessed the mayhem that resulted in the burning of houses, ransacking of the Oba of Lagos Palace and a host of other atrocities committed by the hoodlums and secessionist groups who took advantage of the EndSARS protest to wreak havoc in the country. 

It is also a statement of the fact that Lagos State recorded the highest casualties, hence the need for the intervention of the Nigerian Army to quell the uprising and save the country from disintegrating into anarchy.   

The Coalition of Oduduwa Descendants having reviewed the whole events in the past weeks states in unequivocal terms that indeed the Nigerian Army acted in the best interest of the country at Lekki and other parts of the country, regardless of the narrative been pushed forward by some individuals and groups. 

It is our considered view that, but for the intervention of the Nigerian Army, the level of chaos and destructions would have indeed been of unimaginable proportion.  We must also admit that the activities of hoodlums and other criminal elements indeed threatened our nascent democracy. 

We are consequently urging Nigerians to realize that the intervention of the Nigerian Army was indeed timely and was in the best interest of the country hence the peace and tranquillity that now pervades the length and breadth of the country.  

Nigerians must come to terms with the invaluable contributions of the Nigerian Army in Internal Security Operations in the country, which by and large is an added responsibility in the event where the city police are overwhelmed as it was in the case with the violence that erupted in the aftermath of the EndSARS protest. 

The Coalition of Oduduwa Descendants is appreciative of the efforts of the Nigerian Army in its various interventions in Internal Security Operations. It wishes to call on all well-meaning Nigerians to extend their support to the Nigerian Army, who by all indication, remains committed to the preservation of democracy in Nigeria.

The Coalition of Oduduwa Descendants is using this medium to call on all Nigerians regardless of our ethnic or religious affiliations to extend their support to the Nigerian Army in its efforts towards addressing the various security threats in the country.