Al Jazeera – Soldiers have opened fire on demonstrators gathered at a protest site in Lagos that has been the epicentre of widespread rallies against police brutality in Nigeria, according to several witnesses.
Three witnesses told Reuters News Agency on Tuesday that the soldiers fired at the protesters in the Lekki district of Nigeria’s largest city.
“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.
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, also told Reuters he saw soldiers remove bodies.
There was no immediate comment by the Nigerian army. Gboyega Akosile, spokesman for the governor of Lagos state, said in a Twitter post authorities had ordered an investigation.
Witnesses cited by the AFP news agency also reported the shooting, but did not say who had opened fire.
Amnesty International said in a statement it had received “credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos”, adding that it was investigating “the killings”. On Monday, Amnesty said at least 15 people have been killed since the demonstrations began.
Footage posted on social media showed several hundred people demonstrating in Lagos, in defiance of an indefinite curfew imposed hours earlier by the authorities, as youth-led protests against police violence that began almost two weeks ago have grown larger.
Scenes of protesters removing a bullet from someone’s wound and pleading for help were broadcast in a live video by DJ Switch, a popular disc jockey, to 150,000 Instagram viewers. Gunfire and sirens could be heard in videos filmed near the site.
Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets every day for nearly two weeks across Nigeria to demand an end to police violence.
Earlier on Tuesday, Lagos state Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu alleged that criminals had hijacked the protest movement “to unleash mayhem”, as he announced the curfew.
As the lockdown went into force at 4pm (15:00 GMT), protesters in Lagos sang the national anthem and pledged to remain out on the streets.
“Are you afraid?” a man shouted to the flag-waving crowd from a stage. “We will stay here peacefully,” 32-year-old demonstrator Akin told AFP. “This is our new home.”
Separately on Tuesday, the national police chief ordered the immediate deployment of anti-riot forces nationwide following increased attacks on police facilities, according to a police spokesman.
