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Protests against police violence in Nigeria: "The flags were red with blood"

2020-10-24T18:05:51.109Z


With promises, violence and a curfew, the government in Nigeria wants to stop the ongoing protests against police violence. But the younger generation is interested in more: they are calling for fundamental reforms.


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Protester at the toll booth in Lekki in Lagos

Photo: PIERRE FAVENNEC / AFP

On Tuesday evening, Nigerian security forces opened fire during a demonstration against police violence in Lekki, killing several people.

It is another escalation in the unrest that has raged across the country for more than two weeks.

Radio presenter Nicholas Anyamene is one of those who took to the streets in Nigeria from the start.

He was there when the military shot at the demonstrators at the toll booth in Lekki.

SPIEGEL:

Tens of thousands of people in Lagos and large parts of Nigeria have been taking to the streets for several weeks.

Why?

Nicholas Anyamene:

It started with the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, Sars, the police.

We've had enough.

The Sars unit was known for arresting innocents, extorting money and killing unarmed citizens.

The men in this unit have become the robbers they were supposed to protect us from.

We've known the reports since 2008, but a few very brutal videos from Delta State earlier this month broke the barrel.

They are videos that nobody should have to watch.

These men kill people because they enjoy it.

The protests started on October 5th and I've been there since day one.

SPIEGEL:

Have you ever had contact with the unit?

Anyamene

: I was arrested by Sars myself.

They arrested me and friends two years ago.

At eight o'clock in the evening.

We wanted to watch the Champions League.

They don't ask for IDs, they don't ask questions.

They beat us, pushed us into the car.

You weren't even allowed to call your relatives.

The next morning we were allowed to make a phone call.

And that's how we came out.

But of course we had to pay.

50,000 naira, around 110 euros, per person.

For nothing.

We did nothing.

We were beaten most of the night.

Another time I had to buy a friend out of her custody.

Sometimes they stop people and pick up their phones.

You've shot someone before because they didn't want to give up their phone.

SPIEGEL:

Now the situation is escalating.

What happened?

Anyamene

: On Tuesday, criminals set

fire

to a police station in revenge for a police

murder

.

The governor of Lagos then imposed a curfew, which began at 4 p.m. that same day.

At that time, hundreds of # EndSars protesters were demonstrating peacefully in front of the toll station in Lekki, a suburb of the metropolis of Lagos.

I as well.

We have been demonstrating there for many days.

Many stayed after 4 p.m.

SPIEGEL:

How did the state react?

Anyamene

: There are eyewitness reports of how cameras were removed by toll station employees.

Then the power was turned off and it got dark.

At around 7 p.m., the military took over the toll station.

We answered, shouting that they will not intimidate us, that they will not drive us away.

The national anthem was sung.

Then the situation escalated.

There were isolated shots.

They wanted to scare us, scare us away.

But that didn't work, and they started shooting properly.

There were at least ten dead.

I alone saw five people struck down next to me.

There was blood everywhere.

The Nigerian flags that the people carried were suddenly red with blood.

Panic broke out.

We ran for our lives.

"I saw five people struck down next to me"

SPIEGEL:

Has the situation calmed down since then?

Anyamene

: On the contrary.

Total chaos broke out on Wednesday.

Smoke over the city.

A bus terminal was on fire, a television station, the governor's mother's house, and many others.

Tuesday's killing sparked a wave of violence.

Cars were destroyed, vandalism broke out.

SPIEGEL:

That is counterproductive.

Anyamene

: The protests are infiltrated by government

henchmen

who spread violence to justify the government's actions.

We saw them get out of government cars.

There is evidence, videos, of how gangsters use them to provoke violence.

This is how they want to end the protests.

They want it to look like war.

SPIEGEL:

Isn't the violence coming from the #EndSars movement?

Anyamene

: It has nothing to do with our protests.

These are criminals who are instrumentalized by the government or who have simply hijacked our protests and who use the situation to loot and rob.

SPIEGEL:

Almost two weeks ago, the government announced the dissolution of the Sars unit.

The protests continue.

Why?

Anyamene

: This is Nigeria.

Things don't work the way they should work here.

The government has made promises many times.

And this time around we decided not to stop until we see actual results.

They simply put the Sars men in a different unit.

You can't take the government at its word.

If we stop, nothing changes.

None of the Sars' criminals have been charged.

SPIEGEL:

It's about more than just police violence.

Anyamene

: It's not about promises.

It's about them taking action.

It's about good governance.

About absurd salaries in the government, about corruption, unemployment, inflation.

The country's youth have kept quiet for too long.

The country is still controlled by the men from the time of the military dictatorship.

They just took off their uniforms.

But we're no longer just social media warriors, we're not just the typing generation.

We, the youth, are now the voice of the people.

We have one of the youngest populations in the world.

We are the majority.

When we say, "It is time," then it is time.

SPIEGEL:

How will things go from here?

Anyamene

: There are different opinions.

I think we should stick to the curfew.

And as soon as it is lifted, we go back to the street.

The government wants the situation to escalate.

The government is scared.

If she gives in, there will be more demands.

Good roads, electricity.

Social benefits we don't have while our government officials earn horrific salaries.

We don't see a future for ourselves.

Icon: The mirror

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2020-10-24

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