Ebun Fancis| Armed security operatives on Tuesday night stormed the Lekki Toll Gate Area, one of the hotbeds of #EndSars protests in Lagos State and opened fire in an effort to disperse the protesters.
The details of the operation are still sketchy, however,there have been reports of various casualties, with many sustaining gunshot wounds.
According to an eyewitness, one person was killed and several others injured as soldiers opened fire on them while
they were all sitting on the floor.
He said, “They shot at us. They initially started shooting into the air. We were all scared but some people told us not to run. We then surrounded ourselves in clusters.
“Their faces were covered. We did not know that was their plan when they put off the light. They forgot that we have our phones and can stream live. Some people ran away but others stood. I hid behind a cemented barricade.
“They shot a guy right in front of me. The guy wanted to bend when the gunshot hit him. He started bleeding. Later we rushed to save him but he stopped breathing.”
Another unnamed eyewitness said, “At exactly 6.45pm the soldiers pulled up… and they started firing directly at we, the peaceful protesters.
“They were firing and they were advancing straight at us. It was chaos. Somebody got hit straight beside me and he died on the spot.
“It was pandemonium and they kept on shooting and shooting at us. It lasted for about an hour and a half and the soldiers were actually taking up the dead bodies.”
According to him, the soldiers had built a barricade and ambulances could not reach the protest area.
In a tweet, Amnesty International Nigeria said it had “received credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos”.
Amnesty International spokesman Isa Sanusi later said, “People were killed at the tollgate by security forces… we are working on verifying how many.”
Videos posted online by eyewitnesses at the scene of the incident have shown some persons bleeding seriously, while others were seen administering CPR to some injured persons, to resuscitate them.
The incident comes hours after the Lagos State Government declared a 24-hour curfew as part of efforts to stop the violence which had broken out in some parts of the state by criminal elements who have been hijacking the protests.
Although the curfew was to commence at 4:00 pm, but the state government extended the time to 9pm to enable workers stranded on the road to return home.
At the Lekki Toll Gate which has been one of the major converging points of the protests, peaceful and unarmed protesters were still seen gathered in large numbers around 5:00 pm, an hour after the curfew was to have commenced.
The situation, however, took a turn for the worse around 7:00 pm when the security operatives stormed the area.
Kekki-Ikoyi bridge, Guaranty Trust Bank set ablaze
There bridge which connects Lekki to the Ikoyi axis of Lagos was set on fire on Tuesday night.
The bridge has been the alternative route for residents since #EndSARS protesters blocked the Lekki toll gates 13 days ago.
The fire incident started shotly after soldiers opened fire at the Lekki toll gate to disperse the protesters who for more than one week had occupied the toll plaza.
A branch of the Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB) in the Lekki area of Lagos state was also set on fire on Tuesday nightis.
According to a resident, the fire broke out at the bank situated on Admiralty Way in the highbrow area of the state, started around 9 pm.
Sanwo-Olu orders probe of Lekki shooting
Meanwhile, Lagos state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has ordered investigation into the shooting of #EndSARS protesters at Lekki toll plaza on Tuesday night by security operatives.
The governor, who earlier in the day declared a 24-hour curfew following widespread violence, was called out by many after the shooting.
But a statement by Gbenga Omotoso, the state commissioner for information, said the governor had earlier told security operatives not to arrest anyone.
The statement read, “The State Government has ordered an investigation into the incident.”
“Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has advised the security agents not to arrest anyone on account of the curfew, which he urges residents to observe for the peaceful atmosphere we all cherish.”
Sanwo-Olu appealed to Lagosians to remain calm and not allow “criminals, who had hijacked the noble protest of gallant youths, to succeed in their evil plan of turning the state upside down”.
Leave a Reply