2nd November, 2020
Nigeria’s attorney general and Justice Minister, Abubakar Malami has suggested that “Hoodlums” wearing military uniforms may have shot at #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos.
Malami, who spoke with media men, said it was too soon to tell if soldiers were involved.
His statement contradicted the admission of 81 Division of Nigerian Army, which admitted that soldiers were deployed to enforce curfew, at the invitation of the Lagos State Government.
However, the army division denied its men shot at the protesters, though bullets have been recovered from the scene.
Demonstrations across Nigeria turned violent from Oct. 20 when witnesses said the military opened fire on peaceful protesters in the upmarket Lekki district shortly after local authorities imposed a 24-hour curfew, drawing international condemnation.
Soldiers and police killed at least 12 people in two Lagos neighbourhoods on Oct. 20, according to witnesses and rights group Amnesty International.
The army and police have denied killing.
Malami however told reporters the matter is being investigated.
He said there is a need to establish whether the shooting took place, who was responsible and whether the people who were shooting were part of the military.
“You cannot rule out the possibility of perhaps hoodlums that set in to create a scene… could equally partake in the process,” Malami said at the news conference, which was also attended by government officials including the defence minister and finance minister.
He also said it was “pre-emptive” to conclude that there had even been a shooting.
An enquiry into the incident and SARS brutality has begun in Lagos.
Nationwide protests against alleged human rights abuses by police sparked some of Nigeria’s worst street violence since it returned to civilian rule in 1999.
Police last week said 22 of its personnel were killed in the violence and 205 police stations were damaged.
The unrest, which has largely died down, has posed the biggest political challenge faced by President Muhammadu Buhari since he took office in 2015.