Nigerian military opens fire on peaceful protestors at Lekki toll gate

Following the 5-hour shift of the state-imposed curfew

Written by The Native - 20.Oct.2020

Earlier today, the Governor of Lagos state, Jide Sanwoolu declared a 24-hour curfew, effective from 4pm today. The curfew meant that the #EndSARS protests happening in Lagos would come to a halt, after violent attacks from thugs and hoodlums masked as protestors posed a threat to citizens’ security. Regardless of this, some peaceful protestors decided to continue their mission and take up space at the Lekki toll gate.

These brave young Nigerians remained adamant as they continue to demonstrate against the oppression of young people by the police. They were seen waving the Nigerian flag and singing the national anthem, minutes before everything went awry.

At 6:44 PM, Nollywood actress, Omoni Oboli tweeted “they are shooting at the peaceful protesters at Lekki toll. Please help.” which set alarm bells going on the Internet. Shortly after, videos of the incident started to flood social media, with clear view of a military squad opening fire from a distance at peaceful protestors.

Shortly after at 7 pm, the Lagos State Government announced that the curfew had been shifted until 9 pm, to enable people who would get stuck in inevitable traffic get to their destinations.

Social media has remained a useful tool for young people to speak up against the dehumanising atrocities, and shortly after cameras at the Lekki Toll gate were disconnected and removed, and street lights switched off, we saw via Instagram Live that there was unrest at the scene following the Nigerian military’s attack.

In these videos, we see people who have been freshly shot being attended to by other civilians in a bid to save their lives. We also see a bloodied Nigerian flag, showing evidence of the bloodshed at the scenes. It is important to note that given that the state government had extended the curfew to 9pm, there was absolutely no justification for the military to open fire on innocent protestors.

FK Abudu, shared via Twitter that the ambulance services had been blocked from getting into the toll gate area to help those who have been hurt and possibly killed by the Nigerian military. They have now been let in, and people have been taken away from the scene, and more are on the way to help. We must never forget that several people have been reportedly shot, with an unconfirmed number of deaths from these shootings by the Nigerian Military led by General F.O Omata.

It is believed that the army are making their way to disrupt the protests at Alausa. Please head home if you are there!

This story is developing and will be updated with more information.

Featured Image Credits: Twitter

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