UN asks to investigate police abuse in protests in Nigeria 1:51
(CNN) -
Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari called for "understanding and calm" after protests against police brutality in Lagos turned bloody on Tuesday and Wednesday.
Eyewitnesses and Amnesty International told CNN that several protesters were shot at the Lekki tollbooth and elsewhere by army soldiers, who later removed the bodies.
The statement, signed by the president's special adviser, Femi Adesina, does not mention the attack on the Lekki tollbooth or any of the deaths reported by Amnesty.
Nigerians have asked the president to address the nation directly about the attacks that rocked the country on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The president is the commander-in-chief, which means that the troop deployment should have been approved by him.
Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo called on Buhari to "contain the army and other security agencies" in a statement on Wednesday.
Following a night of violence Tuesday that sparked global outrage, eyewitnesses say the city fell into chaos the next day, spreading beyond the original site.
Violent protests in Nigeria cause Parliament shutdown
advertising
Police brutality denounced in Nigeria
Franklin Alex spoke to CNN while hiding at his home in Ebute Metta, about 9 km from the Lekki toll gate.
He said police had been on his street early Wednesday morning and three people had died.
He added that officers from four nearby police stations were shooting at protesters.
"The police are shooting people who are not armed, although some have bottles and stones, but the police are using very sophisticated weapons against them," he said.
"They are moving from street to street, I could count about 17 of them, all armed, all shooting."
Videos posted on social media and local television coverage showed several buildings on fire, including the Lagos Theater and at least one bank branch.
Some police stations were also attacked, and the video also showed the Lagos High Court on fire.
The human rights group Amnesty International said that after an investigation on the ground, it had discovered that 12 people were killed during protests in two places in Lagos on Tuesday.
He said that "evidence gathered from eyewitnesses, video images and hospital reports" confirmed that over a period of approximately two hours "the Nigerian army opened fire on thousands of people peacefully calling for good governance and an end to police brutality. ».
The army has dismissed reports that protesters were shot and killed as "fake news."
The Nigerian army and police did not respond to requests for comment.
Eyewitnesses told CNN that shots were heard during a peaceful protest at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos as activists chanted the national anthem and called for an end to police brutality.
Daily protests have taken place across the country for nearly two weeks, over widespread allegations of kidnapping, harassment and extortion by a police unit known as the Special Anti-Theft Squad (SARS).
Akinbosola Ogunsanya, a talk show host on Afrosurge Radio, said the shooting started shortly after the tollbooth lights went out.
"Members of the Nigerian army came up to us and started shooting," he said.
"I just survived, barely."
CNN was unable to independently corroborate the eyewitness accounts.
Protesters gather in front of Alausa, the Lagos State Secretariat.
They denounce that the Army took the bodies
Several witnesses told CNN they saw the bodies take away the bodies.
Christopher Yakubu, 27, who told CNN that he fell and injured his leg while trying to escape the shooting.
The witness showed CNN a video of his injury.
I heard rapid shots.
I couldn't count them.
I counted 5 bodies, "he said.
“Later I saw that the Nigerian army took the bodies away in their own truck.
We could not record videos, "he said.
Another protester also said that he witnessed the bloodshed.
"They killed more than 7 people and took their bodies to cover up the evidence," said Deji Jokodola.
On Tuesday, the Governor of Lagos State, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, imposed a 24-hour curfew and deployed riot police in the city.
In a televised statement on Wednesday morning, Governor Sanwo-Olu insisted that no one had died at the Lekki tollbooth: "As we pray for the speedy recovery of the injured, we are comforted that we have not recorded any deaths."
Later that day, he tweeted that a person had died at Reddington Hospital due to "blunt trauma" to the head.
He said it was an isolated case and said he was investigating whether the dead person was a protester.
CNN reached out to the governor's office but received no response.
Eyewitness reports
The governor's comments directly contradict the statements of several eyewitnesses who said they saw multiple victims at the protest.
Speaking to CNN from the scene of the shooting, Temple Onanugbo said she saw "several bodies lying on the ground" when she arrived to help the wounded.
He said he heard what he believed were bullets fired from a nearby house and that the sound lasted "between 15 and 30 minutes."
"I was on Instagram Live when the shooting started," Henry Pundit, a filmmaker, told CNN.
«They were coming towards us with multiple shots.
We fell to the ground and held our flag.
We were crying, some were running.
Amnesty International Nigeria tweeted that it had received "credible but disturbing evidence" of "excessive use of force resulting in the deaths of protesters".
Amnesty International has received credible but disturbing evidence of excessive use of force occasioning deaths of protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos.
#EndSARS #Lekki #Nigeria
- Amnesty International Nigeria (@AmnestyNigeria) October 20, 2020
Governor Sanwo-Olu called for all forms of protest to end immediately and ordered an investigation into the incident.
"The events of yesterday were without doubt some of the darkest gradients in our history as a state and as a people," he said.
Earlier on Tuesday, the governor imposed a 24-hour curfew on Lagos, which has an estimated population of more than 20 million people, including closing all of its schools.
The closure means that only essential service providers and first responders are allowed to be on the streets.
SARS was disbanded on October 11 and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) will train a new police unit to replace it, Reuters reported Sunday.
Protesters are demanding greater protection from the police, including independent monitoring and psychological evaluation of officers.
International condemnation
On Wednesday, US Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden urged President Buhari and the Nigerian army to stop "the violent crackdown on protesters in Nigeria that has already led to several deaths."
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he was "deeply concerned by the recent violence and continued fighting in Nigeria" and "alarmed by the widespread reports of civilian deaths."
"We call for an end to the violence," Raab added.
"The Nigerian government must urgently investigate reports of brutality at the hands of the security forces and hold those responsible to account."
Former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged Buhari to do something to end the violence.
“I call on @mbuhari and @hqnigerianarmy to stop killing young #EndSARS protesters.
#Stop the government of Nigeria, "he said in a tweet.
Nigerian Manchester United soccer player Odion Ighalo said he was "ashamed of this government" in an Instagram post.
"I call on the UK government, all the leaders of the world to see what is happening in Nigeria and to help us."
Violence and curfews in Nigeria
Deaths and serious injuries have been reported since the weekend amid the protests.
Videos on social media show dozens of cars belonging to protesters on fire, which Amnesty International Nigeria confirmed on Twitter.
"As we continue to investigate the killings, Amnesty International wishes to remind the authorities that, under international law, security forces may only use deadly force when strictly unavoidable to protect against an imminent threat of death or serious injury." the human rights group tweeted.
Other videos show a massive escape of hundreds of prisoners from the Benin Correctional Center in Edo state in southern Nigeria.
It is not known who is to blame for the leak, and protesters claim it was organized by the police.
Nigerian police said in a tweet that protesters took weapons and ammunition from the armory before releasing the suspects into custody and setting the facility on fire.
Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki imposed a curfew on Monday, tweeting about "disturbing incidents of vandalism and attacks on individuals and private institutions by thugs disguised as #EndSARS protesters."
Riot police have been deployed across the country.
According to a tweet from the Nigerian police force on Tuesday night, the Nigerian Police Inspector General ordered the immediate national deployment of riot police officers "to protect the lives and property of all Nigerians and to secure critical national infrastructure. in all the country.
»
- Tim Lister, Gianluca Mezzofiore, Katie Polglase, Dominic Rech and Harry Clarke-Ezzidio contributed reporting.
Police brutality Nigeria
