Grace told Vanguard that after her brother’s death, the hospital authorities changed the story and said he died of COVID-19. Two ballistics experts have also confirmed with CNN that the shape of the bullet casings indicate they used live rounds, which contradicts the army's claim they fired blanks. Nigerian soldiers attacked peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the … The body of Victor Sunday Ibanga is pictured in a pool of blood. The shootings at Lekki toll gate followed weeks of "#EndSARS" protests against police brutality that had burst onto the streets of cities across Nigeria. We have those who constantly seek to drive a wedge between us and between the citizens of Nigeria...". Facebook. Facebook Twitter Pinterest WhatsApp Telegram Print. "He just came back from work on that Tuesday, ate his food and went there," Okon told CNN. This is the latest message contained in a new paper published on January 13,... Two officers were injured while breaking up an illegal party with 200 guests in London, British police said on Saturday. It is not known whether these were dead or injured protesters. From multiple videos, CNN has pieced together a timeline that shows that shooting by the army lasted from 6:43 p.m. until at least 8:24 p.m., according to video evidence. Nicknamed the … Download Vanguard News App. And working with the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, CNN has established that several of the bullets from the Lekki toll gate originated from Serbia. The timeline for when the curfew was imposed has become a point of contention between the Governor and the military. One of the person that visited the venue of the panel is Mr Nathaniel Solomon, whose younger brother Abouta Solomon was said to have been shot dead at the toll gate. The youth of Nigeria found their voice in 2020 with the rise of the End Sars protests against police brutality. "He expressly told me: 'I am acting on orders from above.'". Peace Okon, 24, hasn't seen her younger brother Wisdom, 18, since he went to the protest the night of the shooting. Testimony from dozens of eyewitnesses and family members interviewed by CNN and a forensic examination of hours of video and dozens of photographs captured before, during and after the two shooting incidents show how a fledgling protest movement was all but extinguished by the very thing Nigerians were demonstrating against. "They're shooting, they're shooting," another person screams in one of the videos. The Chairman of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS-Related Abuses, Justice Doris Okuwobi, said the Lagos State Government has paid forensic analysts to examine the Lekki toll gate for 21 days. Protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos on Oct. 20. About 200 protesters remained at the toll gate when witnesses say police and SARS arrived, he added. Using metadata, CNN geolocated the image to the protest location at 6:50 pm. ", As the live broadcast ends, people are still trying to apply CPR on the man in red, while DJ Switch can be heard saying, "this guy is dying.". The Lagos State Government has paid a huge sum of money to forensic experts to unearth the truth of what happened at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020. Workers clean up the Lekki toll gate on October 24. After the army withdrew from the scene, members of the police, including the SARS police unit -- disbanded by authorities on 11 October -- moved in, according to multiple eyewitnesses CNN spoke with. The army also said at the hearing that it was the governor who called soldiers to the scene because the police were overrun. Demonstrators protest police brutality at the Lekki toll gate on October 20. Lagos govt breaks silence on shooting at Lekki toll gate, sends directive to Army The Lagos State Government has reacted to the shooting at the Lekki toll gate on Tuesday night. CNN's calls to the Nigerian army have not been returned. But rights group Amnesty International release statement on Wednesday say na at least 12 pipo dem kill for Alausa and Lekki Toll Gate shooting for Lagos on Tuesday. (vitag.Init = window.vitag.Init || []).push(function(){viAPItag.display("vi_949932995")}). Videos examined by CNN show the army trucks approaching the protesters from both sides of the toll gate -- barricading them in. October 22, 2020. On December 4, 2020 1:52 pm In SARS Update by David O Royal. This one was manufactured in Serbia in 2005, and is currently in use by the Nigerian army. Two eyewitnesses told CNN they saw soldiers arriving in a Toyota Hilux pickup truck with "OP Awatse" written on it -- the name of a joint military task force that operates in Lagos State. The person on the other end of the line -- a stranger -- broke the news that Ibanga's brother, Victor, had been shot dead at the Lekki toll gate, in Lagos, Nigeria, where he had been peacefully protesting against police brutality earlier that night. The army said their soldiers were unaware of the change to the later time, according to the army spokesperson's testimony to the eight-person judicial panel on November 14. The footage from the security camera overlooking the toll gate in Lagos, Nigeria was played during Saturday's session of an eight-person judicial panel set … Cries of "Na lie, na lie [exclamations of disbelief in pidgin]" can also be heard. The Nigerian Army has denied being involved in the massacre of peaceful protesters that occurred on Tuesday evening at the Lekki Toll gate despite leaked footage from the unfortunate scene showing uniformed soldiers carry out the killings.. "They pointed their guns at us and they started shooting," she said. The deceased has since been buried in his hometown in Mubi Local Government Area of Adamawa State, and Aiyedun Olufunmi Grace, whose brother died at LASUTH after suffering gunshot wounds to the head. Map by Natalie Croker and Henrik Pettersson. *ready to build estate -by 2nd toll gate off lekki epe expressway, lagos state* _if you desire an affordable property in a built-up environment with ongoing_ _infrastructural developement and secure_ _neighbourhood_ _then invest_ in this *location:* 2nd toll gate , off lekki epe expressway *security: the* estate is in a very secure environment and free from all encumberances. Edited by Blathnaid Healy. "We referred some for treatment to other hospitals," Dr. Aranmolate said. Some told CNN they were offered money to recant their initial testimonies. CNN has examined bullet casings found at the scene and confirmed with current and former Nigerian military sources that the bullet casings match those used by the army. Ibanga confirmed the photograph is of his brother. Multiple eyewitnesses told CNN that ambulances were prevented from reaching the scene by the authorities. READ our Privacy-policy and cookie policy. 14 of them were said to have been shot at Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, after the announcement of curfew by the governor, while one was said to have been shot at Ojodu Berger. Later, DJ Switch can be seen helping to extract a bullet lodged in another man's thigh as he screams in agony. EndSARS: 14 protesters allegedly shot at Lekki Toll Gate visit Lagos panel. Members of the judicial panel visit the Lekki toll gate on October 30. Pinterest. Muhammad A. Aliyu Follow on Twitter October 27, 2020. But on November 14, during a judicial inquiry into the shooting, army representative Brigadier Ahmed Taiwo said, "There's no way officers and men will kill their brothers and sisters. Less than three hours after the original curfew time came into effect, army trucks left the Bonny Camp barracks on Victoria Island and headed towards the toll gate plaza and the protesters, according to videos reviewed by CNN. ", "I couldn't count how many dead because I was running for my life.". For almost a fortnight, thousands of young Nigerians mostly under 30 -- a demographic that makes up 40% of the country's population -- protested, with calls for an end to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, a police unit widely and repeatedly accused of kidnapping, harassment and extortion. Many feel they are being scapegoated for taking part in peaceful protests -- wrongly blamed for the looting -- and fear has descended on the movement since the shooting. Kindly Share This Story: By Onozure Dania. In response, on October 20, hours before the shooting, Governor Sanwo-Olu imposed a strict curfew starting at 4 p.m. following looting and vandalism in other parts of the state. Odele told CNN that her passport has since been returned. "One of the victims had to have his leg amputated.". The 81 Division of the Nigerian Army has said it deployed soldiers to Lekki tollgate on the invitation of Lagos … The protesters who were present have told CNN it was a "massacre" with multiple people killed and dozens wounded. Panic ensued as protesters attempted to flee. I wanted people to see. When contacted by CNN to share the findings of this investigation, a Lagos State government spokesman declined to comment. While CNN has not been able to independently verify that SARS members were present, multiple eyewitnesses said they saw police officers, accompanied by officers from the unit, at the scene after the army left. "Talking about that subject now will be sub-judicial since the matter is already before a panel of inquiry. The full names of some interviewees and the identities of others have been withheld for their safety. The first scene that comes to mind is white police officers firing at unarmed protestors. Updated January 5, 2021 A file photo of Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. "Please explain to me how, in which part of the world, do you go to a protest with live bullets. "My mother, my sisters, all my family are in prayer, just to see if we can find out and know where my brother's dead body is," he said. One of the protesters, Mathew, pictured, says he was injured when the army opened fire at Lekki toll gate. The movement quickly widened beyond police brutality to other grievances -- capturing the frustrations of a young population demanding an end to bad governance in the oil-rich country. About 15 protesters who suffered gunshot wounds during the #EndSARS protests in Lagos today stormed the Lagos State Court of Arbitration and Mediation in Lekki, venue of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS related abuses and other matters. Injured people whom CNN has confirmed were present at the toll gate started arriving in local hospitals -- carried by civilians -- from 7:19 p.m. while the shooting was still ongoing, according to videos analyzed by CNN. DJ Switch told CNN that protesters lifted bodies with bullet wounds and put them at the soldiers' feet. There are 41 available flats for rent around 2nd Toll Gate, Lekki, Lagos, … At one point during the broadcast, there were attempts to resuscitate a man in red clothing who had passed out. Lekki, a relatively affluent suburb of Lagos, and the toll gate became a focal point of the movement. However, about 10 days into the protests, the demonstrations were hijacked by "thugs and sponsored hoodlums" who attacked protesters, causing deaths and injuries, according to Amnesty International Nigeria. Separately, Dr. Ayo Aranmolate, executive medical director at Grandville medical center, told CNN he and his colleagues received around 15 injured people that night with various gunshot wounds and cuts. In a video obtained by CNN and geolocated to Lekki toll gate at 2:36 a.m., one eyewitness, Legend, whose second name we're not publishing for his safety, can be seen with the Nigerian flag around his head saying, "...my hand is broken, my leg is broken, and police are still shooting at us. I can't find him," she said. Sometime after midnight on October 21, Elisha Sunday Ibanga answered a phone call from his older brother's number. Do NOT follow this link or you will be banned from the site. WhatsApp. However, human be... By Dele Sobowale “We are depressed, very depressed. 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Her brother had only moved to Lagos a few weeks before the protest -- Okon had helped him find a job as a cleaner at a bank. ", Some chanted: "We are peaceful protesters" and "End Sars, we no go gree [pidgin for we will not agree, or give in].". But an investigation by CNN into the disputed events has cast doubt on authorities' shifting and changing statements. They show graphic injuries and people bleeding on the ground. On the night of 20 October 2020, Nigerian Armed Forces shot at unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos, Nigeria. The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE, on Tuesday, said it compensated no fewer than 49 investors who suffered pecuniary loss... Italy ordered the Chinese-owned TikTok to make sure young children aren’t using its app, after the death of a 10-year-ol... By Owei Lakemfa HUMANITY was given the earth as a sustainable security. Lagos state government has paid forensic experts to unearth the truth of what happened at the Lekki toll gate on October 20, 2020. By the next morning, Okon was out searching for him. Someone in the crowd says, "you will live, you will not die. ARISE Correspondent @lailajohnsonsal speaks with #EndSARS protesters in Lekki, Lagos. A Lagos State police spokesman declined to comment because of the ongoing panel investigation. "I've gone to hospitals, I've gone to police stations, I've gone to everywhere. However, the 81 Division of the Nigerian Army had said contrary to insinuations, soldiers who stormed the Lekki toll gate were invited by the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu. This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution for victims of SARS and police brutality, Justice Doris Okuwobi, on Tuesday while ruling on an application filed by the Lekki Concession Company. "I didn't want anybody to come on and twist the story. Video supervised by Rosie Tomkins and Dan Wright. The country's central bank has obtained a 90-day court order freezing the accounts of those who took part in the demonstrations. The Nigerian Army has denied allegations that it shot at peaceful protesters, saying it merely fired blanks into the air to disperse stone throwers. One eyewitness, Sarah, whose last name we're not publishing for her safety, told CNN that the soldiers shot in the air but also directly at protesters. 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