Former Lagos military administrator Buba Marwa has condemned the military attack on civilians in Lagos, saying it triggered the widespread outbreak of looting and destruction around the commercial hub.

“I was deeply troubled and worried by the news reports I got about the ugly turn of events at the Lekki toll plaza on Tuesday October 20, 2020 and the subsequent wanton destruction of public and private assets,” Mr. Marwa said in a statement Monday afternoon. “This should never have been if peaceful protesters had not been confronted with live bullets and innocent lives lost in the process.”

Mr. Marwa led Lagos as a member of Sani Abacha’s military junta between 1996 and 1999. He has been in and out of politics since he retired as a brigadier-general in 1999. He is currently the chairman of a presidential panel to eliminate drug abuse.

The military attack in Lekki and the violence that followed it have plunged Lagos into chaos for a week. Governor Jide Sanwo-Olu, who has been scrambling to contain the fallout, has constituted a panel of inquiry to probe all cases involved. 

But Mr. Sanwo-Olu has yet to come clean on what he knew about the deadly shooting of civilians under his watch. The widespread looting and destruction affected both the governor and his predecessor Bola Tinubu, whose media businesses were set alight by rampaging thugs on October 21.

Mr. Marwa  condoled with the Lagos political leaders and others who endured losses during the crisis, which has now been largely subdued.