National Post (National Edition)
Nigeria's Lagos locked down
Army under scrutiny after civilians fired on
L AGOS • Police enforced a round-the-clock curfew in Nigeria's biggest city on Wednesday a day after soldiers reportedly opened fire on civilians protesting against alleged police brutality.
Fires burned across Lagos and residents of Ebute Mette, Lagos Island and Okota districts reported hearing gunfire on Wednesday as President Muhammadu Buhari appealed for “understanding and calm.”
Police — some armed, some wearing body armour and many in plain clothes — set up roadblocks in Lagos, witnesses said.
Tuesday night's incident at a toll gate in Lekki district was the most serious yet in nearly two weeks of nationwide protests fuelled by anger at alleged systematic abuses by police, although details of what happened and the number of casualties remained unclear.
The Lagos state governor said 30 people were hurt in the shooting at the gate, a focal point of the protests. One man had died in hospital from a blow to the head, he said, but it was not known if he was a protester.
The United Nations secretary-general said there had been “multiple deaths” and he urged authorities to de-escalate the situation. Amnesty International said it was investigating “credible but disturbing evidence” of excessive use of force in which protesters had been killed.
Four witnesses said soldiers had fired bullets and at least two people had been shot. Three witnesses said the gate's lights were turned off before the shooting began. One said he saw soldiers remove bodies.
The Nigerian Army said no soldiers were at the scene.
Thousands of Nigerians, many driven closer to poverty by economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic that has killed 1,125 and triggered lockdowns, have demonstrated since early October in protests that initially focused on a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS)
The unit — which rights groups have long accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murder — was disbanded on Oct. 11 but the protests have persisted with calls for law enforcement reforms.
Authorities imposed the curfew on Lagos — Africa's largest metropolis — on Tuesday after Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu said the protests had turned violent.
Witnesses described being shot at by soldiers at the Lekki toll gate, where people had gathered on Tuesday evening in defiance of the curfew.
Inyene Akpan, 26, a photographer, said more than 20 soldiers arrived and opened fire as they approached the protesters.
A Nigerian army spokesman did not respond to requests for comment.