As the 81 Division Nigerian Army denied that soldiers shot
at protesters at Lekki Toll Gate last week Tuesday, a survivor has come out to
share what she saw in an interview with AFP.
She said she hasn’t been able to sleep for a week and at
first wanted just “to stay hidden”.
But this survivor of the shooting of peaceful Nigerian
protesters at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos last week said she realised that she had
to speak out.
“I feel like I’m hiding the truth,” says the young woman,
whose name AFP has changed to Clara for her own safety.
The shooting of demonstrators in Lagos unleashed chaos in
Nigeria and stirred international outrage.
The bloodshed was watched live on social media by tens of
thousands of internet users and Amnesty International said security forces
gunned down at least 10 people at the scene.
But the Nigerian army and police have rejected all evidence
of any responsibility.
October 20 was the 10th day that Clara, a 24-year-old
financial auditor, had woken up at 6 am (0500 GMT) and headed to join the
crowds at the giant Lekki Toll Gate to demonstrate against police brutality.
The site had developed into a place of protest, partying and
prayers as thousands of mainly young people blocked one of the main highways in
Lagos.
After days bringing the city to a standstill, the protests
had begun to turn violent in numerous districts and the authorities announced a
curfew from 4 pm (1500 GMT).
Clara and some of her friends in the crowd decided to defy
the order despite the threats of a possible crackdown.
“We wanted to make sure it was a peaceful protest,” she
insists.
“We picked up all the stones on the floor, we took away all
the sticks lying on the floor, we made sure no one was selling alcohol so it
would not alter the mood.”
But the atmosphere began to darken despite attempts to keep
spirits high.
“I saw people with orange clothes at about 2 pm taking CCTV
cameras out,” says the young woman.
“One of our guys went and asked them what they were doing
and they said they were taking off cameras because they didn’t want anyone to
steal or break them.”
The company that runs the toll gate has insisted that the
cameras moved were those only for scanning car number plates.
But Clara is adamant.
“They were not plate registration cameras, they were at the
top of the toll gate. It’s a lie,” she says.
As night set in Clara realised the giant electronic
billboard over the site and street lights had been turned off.
“It’s just when it started getting dark that we saw there
was no light,” she recounts.
Along with a few others she went to ask workers from the
toll gate to turn the illuminations back on — but they insisted it was an order
from their boss.
“This is when I started hearing the shooting,” Clara says.
“I saw five army vans in total. Two were at the back and
three up front, all shooting,” she continues.
After a first wave of shooting “there was blood everywhere, people shouting”.
“There were different people on the floor, some were moving, some were not moving,” Clara says.
“We were just running. I saw a woman begging for help, she was shouting in Yoruba ‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die’.”
“Some people brought two injured to us. There were still a
lot of shootings and I was trying to call an ambulance,” she says.
“A group of soldiers came to us, and we started shouting:
‘Why are you killing us, we are one, we are brothers!'”
After a first wave of shooting “there was blood everywhere,
people shouting”.
“There were different people on the floor, some were moving,
some were not moving,” Clara says.
“We were just running. I saw a woman begging for help, she
was shouting in Yoruba ‘I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die’.”
Then the break ended and more gunfire began.
“This time there were army guys and other people who seemed
to be like police,” she says.
“Out of nowhere the shooting started again, and I saw tear
gas.”
People desperately tried to flee the scene. Some hid in
bushes. Others jumped into the nearby water of the lagoon.
Only at around 2.30 am (0130 GMT) did the sound of gunshots
finally stop.
Echoing other witness accounts, Clara says she saw the
soldiers turn back ambulances and load the bloodied body of at least one man
into a military vehicle.
“I can’t say if he was dead or wounded, but he was not
moving anymore,” she says.
“I don’t know how many bodies they took, all I can say is
that I saw this one.”
One week on from that dreadful night, Clara says she feels
“traumatised”.
The protesters had hopes of a “better Nigeria”.
“For once we put everything aside and came with one voice to
fight against police brutality,” she says.
“It’s sad that we had a protest to ask to live and they
still came to kill us.”
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Look at how serious the @MBuhari led SARS State-Aided Robbery Squad have tried to deny the killing at Lekki with active corroboration with the likes of Alhaji Tinubu Ahmed, Sanwolu,the order former Lagos Governor turned super detective who discovered the hidden camera after a imagine the other killings these group of people have concealed. Imagine the ones happening in other lower profile locations in Nigeria considering that this happened at Lekki with the entire world gazing in bewilderment. So easy it must been for them killing elswere.
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