Soldiers ‘fired on Nigerians protesting police brutality’ in Lagos

A boy holds a banner during a protest against the Nigeria rogue police

Credit: AKINTUNDE AKINLEYE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Soldiers opened fire on Nigerians protesting against police brutality in the Lekki district of the commercial capital Lagos on Tuesday, striking at least two people, four witnesses told Reuters.

Thousands of Nigerians have demonstrated nationwide every day for nearly two weeks against a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that rights groups had for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders. The unit was disbanded on Oct. 11 but the protests have persisted with demonstrators calling for a raft of law enforcement reforms.

"They started firing ammunition toward the crowd. They were firing into the crowd," said Alfred Ononugbo, 55, a security officer. "I saw the bullet hit one or two persons," he said.

The condition of those two people was not immediately known. Amnesty International has said at least 15 people had been killed since the protests began.

In a Twitter post, the Nigerian Army said no soldiers were at the scene of the shooting on Tuesday night in Lekki, an upmarket district where the toll gate has been the site of daily protests in Lagos, Africa’s biggest city.

Protesters walk through a barricade along a road during a protest 

Credit: AKINTUNDE AKINLEYE/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

Lagos state government said it would open an investigation into the shooting, which witnesses said began about 7 pm (1800 GMT).

"There have been reports of shooting at the Lekki Toll Plaza," Gboyega Akosile, a spokesman for the governor, said on Twitter. "The State Government has ordered an investigation into the incident," he said in another tweet.

A Nigerian army spokesman did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Barbados-born singer Rihanna also took to Twitter to condemn SARS and said her "heart was broken for Nigeria".

She posted: "I can’t bare to see this torture and brutalisation that is continuing to affect nations across our planet!

#ENDSARS 🇳🇬 pic.twitter.com/59lrs8JnDA

— Rihanna (@rihanna) October 20, 2020

"It’s such a betrayal to our citizens, they very people put in place to protect are the ones we are most afraid of being murdered by! My heart is broken for Nigeria man!"

Inyene Akpan, 26, a photographer, said more than 20 soldiers arrived at the toll gate in Lekki and opened fire. He said he saw two people being shot.

Akinbosola Ogunsanya, a third witness, said he saw around 10 people being shot. Mr Ogunsanya, who said lights went out shortly before the soldiers arrived, also said he saw soldiers remove bodies.

Another witness, Chika Dibia, said soldiers hemmed in people as they shot at them.

Protesters gather at the front of Alausa, the Lagos State Secretariat

Credit: AFP

Video verified by Reuters showed men walking slowly in formation toward demonstrators, followed by trucks with flashing lights, and the sound of gunfire popping. Another video showed the toll gate itself, with a protester waving a Nigerian flag, as people ran amid the sounds of gunfire.

A Reuters witness heard sirens and gunfire.

A doctor at the private Reddington Hospital in the Victoria Island area of Lagos said 13 people were being treated, including some for gunshot wounds. The doctor asked not to be identified.