LAGOS (Reuters) – Lagos under a 24-hour police curfew on Wednesday, a day after witnesses reported that infantrymen opened fire on civilians in Nigeria’s largest city in an incident that a human rights organization says killed people.
Lagos state governor said 30 other people were injured in the shooting at a protest at a toll booth in Lekki district, a focal point of nearly two weeks of protests across the country opposed to allegations of systematic police brutality.
The governor said a man died in hospital from a blow to the head. It is not transparent if you are a protester.
While President Muhammadu Buhari called for “understanding and calm,” Amnesty International said he was investigating “credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force that caused protesters to die” at the toll.
Four witnesses said infantrymen fired bullets and at least two others were shot. Two of the witnesses tested that the doors were locked before the shooting began. One of them said he saw infant corps.
In a Twitter message, the Nigerian army said they were not on site.
On Wednesday, fires burning in Lagos and citizens of Ebute Mette, Lagos Island and Okota districts reported hearing gunfire.
Police, some armed, some dressed in bulletproof vests and many civilian dresses, set up barricades in Lagos, two witnesses said.
Witnesses saw the youth pass through some checkpoints and reported that protesters were gathering in some areas.
A live broadcast via local broadcaster Arise TV showed armed policemen targeting teams of citizens and dozens of charred buses on the lake continent.
In South Africa, a lot of Nigerians with not-easy symptoms “a new and larger Nigeria” went to Nigeria’s High Commissioner in Pretoria.
The Nigerian government imposed a curfew in Lagos on Tuesday after the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the protests had turned violent, the burning of police stations in the orile Iganmu and Ilasamaja districts.
“THE BUCK STOPS AT MY TABLE”
Thousands of Nigerians, many of whom are closer to poverty because of the economic consequences of a coronavirus pandemic that targeted more than 60,000 people, killed 1,125 and sparked spring closures, protests that targeted a police unit, the Anti-Theft Squad Special (SARS).
The unit, which for years included human rights teams accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murder, was dissolved on 11 October, but protests persisted with requests for police reforms.
President Buhari said Wednesday that he was committed to justice for victims of brutality and that police reforms demanded through protesters were accelerating.
His statement, published through his spokesman, made no reference to the toll shooting, from which a witness saw smoke come out on Wednesday.
Sanwo-Olu tweeted images of a stopover at the hospital to those who suffered what he called an “unfortunate shooting” in Lekki.
He said 25 other people were being treated for mild to moderate injuries, two were receiving intensive care and three had been released.
“I recognize that duty stops at my table and I will work with the FG (federal government) to get to the root of this unfortunate incident and stabilize all security operations in the lives of our residents,” Sanwo-Olu said.
In a broadcast, he suggested Buhari interfere to investigate what had happened in Lekki.
Witnesses described how the soldiers shot them dead.
Inyene Akpan, 26, a photographer, said more than 20 arrived and opened fire.
Witness Akinbosola Ogunsanya said he saw a dozen more people shot and infant corps. Another witness, Chika Dibia, said infantrymen surrounded others as they were shot.
A spokesman for the Nigerian army responded to requests for comment.
Nigeria’s sovereign Eurobonds fell more than 2 cents against the dollar on Wednesday, while an analyst said protests against SARS can lead to a resumption of attacks on the country’s oil facilities, which could affect its main source of foreign revenue.
“The militants of the Niger Delta . . . would have expressed support for the (protest) movement. If the protests escalate, we may see attacks on oil and fuel facilities resumed,” said Janet Ogunkoya, senior research analyst at Tellimer Research.
(Information through Angela Ukomadu, Alexis Akwagyiram and Libthrough George in Lagos; additional information via Olivia Kumwenda in Johannesburg and Karin Strohecker in London; written through John Stonestreet; edited through Libthrough George)
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