RTTue, 20 Oct 2020 21:12 UTC
© Reuters/Temilade AdelajaDemonstrators gesture during a protest over alleged police brutality in Lagos.
Soldiers have reportedly opened fire at people protesting against police brutality in Lagos, Nigeria, shortly after a 24-hour curfew was imposed in the city over the escalating demonstrations.
Gunfire and sirens were heard in the Lekki district of Nigeria's financial capital, witnesses told Reuters.
Though there have been no official reports of fatalities or injuries, some locals shared graphic footage on social media of blood-soaked garments and flags.
"They started firing ammunition toward the crowd. They were firing into the crowd. I saw the bullet hit one or two persons," one local security officer said.
A photographer, who worked at the scene, reported seeing two people being shot.Earlier on Tuesday, Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu
introduced a 24-hour curfew for an indefinite period after a police station was set alight, saying that
the two-week-long protests in the city have "degenerated into a monster that is threatening the well-being of our society."
A spokesperson for the governor later
said an investigation had been ordered into the reports of shootings.
The curfew was apparently ignored by the
demonstrators, angry over the behavior of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a police unit accused of widespread corruption that includes kidnapping, harassment and extortion. SARS was disbanded earlier in October, but people in Lagos and elsewhere in Nigeria are
demanding more protections from possible police brutality, including independent oversight for law enforcement and psychological evaluations of servicemen.
Comment: A mob
sets fire to television station in Lagos when security forces reportedly gun down droves of protesters:
As TVC's Your View aired on Wednesday morning, host Morayo Afolabi-Brown was interrupted by the sound of shouting in the studio. "I think you should just find a way to take cover. They're already at the gates."
The broadcast cut out, and shortly afterwards, the station was on fire. Videos shared to social media showed the building engulfed in flames and smoke, as several cars parked outside burned.
"Every car has been burned down. They're burning everything."
The president sent out an appeal:
© Reuters/Nigeria PresidencyNigerian President Muhammadu Buhari
Nigerian president Muhammadu Buhari said: "The Presidency appeals for understanding and calm across the nation, as the implementation of the reforms, gathers pace at Federal and State levels."
It did not address the previous day's shooting at protesters and focused largely on to the establishment of judicial panels to address issues of police brutality across the country. Buhari's office said the dissolution of the SARS was "the first step" in a set of reforms that "will deliver a police system accountable to the Nigerian people." At least 25 were being treated in hospitals as a result of police firing at protesters.
The shooting occurred at the Lekki Toll Plaza in Lagos, where a small group of protesters had gathered in defiance of the curfew. Witnesses to the event posted graphic videos online as well as photos of blood-soaked garments and flags.
According to local media, the Nigeria Civil Society Situation Room, a coalition of over 70 civil society organizations, has called on the National Assembly leadership to urgently summon President Muhammadu Buhari and the inspector general of police, Mohammed Adamu, to explain the circumstances that led to widespread killings in the country.
Protests have been taking place in Nigeria for over two weeks, with demonstrators actively using the social media hashtag #EndSars to gain attention. The SARS unit was abolished earlier this month by the inspector general of police "in response to the yearning of the Nigerian people."
Comment: A mob sets fire to television station in Lagos when security forces reportedly gun down droves of protesters: The president sent out an appeal: