Tragedy Hits As Soldiers Open Fire At Protesters In Lekki,Lagos 1
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Tragedy Hits As Soldiers Open Fire At Protesters In Lekki,Lagos

Tragedy hits as soldiers opened fire on Nigerians protesting against police brutality in the Lekki district of Lagos on Tuesday, striking at least two people.

For practically two weeks Nigerians have been on a nationwide protest,against a police unit, called the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that rights groups had for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders. The unit was disbanded on Oct.11 however the protests have persisted with demonstrators calling for a complete reformation of the system.

“They started firing ammunition toward the crowd. They were firing into the crowd,” said Alfred Ononugbo, 55, a security officer witness, “I saw the bullet hit one or two persons,” he said.

The condition of those two people was not immediately known. Amnesty International has said at least 15 people had been killed since the protests began.

 However, in a twitter post, the Nigerian Army had refuted the allegation saying no soldiers were at the scene of the shooting on Tuesday night in Lekki.

Lagos state government has assured it would investigate into the shooting, which witnesses said began about 7 pm.

“There have been reports of shooting at the Lekki Toll Plaza,” Gboyega Akosile, a spokesman for the governor, said on Twitter. “The State Government has ordered an investigation into the incident,” he said in another tweet.

Another witness,Inyene Akpan, a photographer, said more than 20 soldiers arrived at the toll gate in Lekki and opened fire. He said he saw two people being shot.

Akinbosola Ogunsanya, a third witness, said he saw about 10 people being shot. Mr Ogunsanya, who said lights went out shortly before the soldiers arrived, also said he saw soldiers remove bodies.

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