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‘He said Victor was shot’: Brother grapples with loss after Nigeria protest deaths

‘He said Victor was shot’: Brother grapples with loss after Nigeria protest deaths

LIBBY GEORGE IT was after midnight in Lagos on October 21 when Elisha Sunday said he got a call from his brother Victor's phone: a stranger told him Victor had been shot dead by soldiers at Lekki Toll Gate. After a sleepless night, he said he went out to find the body but roads towards the upscale neighbourhood were blocked and he heard shooting so turned back. Elisha, 24, said he later saw pictures of his 27-year-old brother on Facebook, draped in a Nigerian flag and covered in blood. After that, the trail went cold. Protesters objecting to police brutality…
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Nigerian general dismisses bloody Lagos protest videos as fake

Nigerian general dismisses bloody Lagos protest videos as fake

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM A judicial panel investigating claims that Nigerian soldiers shot dead peaceful protesters in Lagos has viewed videos appearing to show people hurt or saying that they were being fired on, but an army general dismissed the footage. Brigadier General Ahmed Taiwo, who heads the army's 81st Division in Lagos, also said soldiers had been deployed to the protest with both live rounds and blanks, having previously told the panel only blanks were used. The panel is looking into allegations that the army and police last month opened fire on and killed people protesting at the city's Lekki Toll…
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‘Perfect storm’: How Nigeria’s peaceful police protests turned violent

‘Perfect storm’: How Nigeria’s peaceful police protests turned violent

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM TEARS fill Ephraim Osinboyejo's eyes as he recalls the idealism that drove thousands of Nigerians like him into the streets to campaign against police brutality - and the night he saw young activists gunned down. The 39-year-old businessman says he returned to Nigeria last year after two decades abroad because he wanted to help his country. When nationwide demonstrations began on October 8, he volunteered to manage logistics at the main protest site in Lagos. But what began as a largely peaceful movement, driven by young, tech-savvy activists who used social media to grab global attention, turned into…
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Pasha 83: Talking #EndSARS and the new proposed unit

Pasha 83: Talking #EndSARS and the new proposed unit

OGECHI EKEANYANWU, Commissioning Editor: Nigeria, The Conversation OZAYR PATEL, Digital Editor, The Conversation FOLLOWING over two weeks’ protest against police brutality in Nigeria, there are reports that a number of protesters have been shot with live ammunition. Reports suggest that unarmed protesters were shot by military men at the Lekki toll plaza in Lagos on Tuesday, October 20. The shooting was said to have occurred just before a 24-hour curfew imposed by the Lagos State government. The people were protesting against human rights abuses perpetrated by a now-disbanded unit in the Nigeria Police Force, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad. In today’s…
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NIGERIA BURNS

NIGERIA BURNS

NIGERIA’S biggest city Lagos and several states were under curfews as unrest rooted in anti-police protests broke out again following a day of violence, including the shooting of civilians by security forces. Fires burned across Lagos and residents reported hearing gunfire despite President Muhammadu Buhari's appeal for "understanding and calm". Armed police tried to enforce a round-the-clock curfew in the commercial capital, setting up checkpoints. But groups of young men blocked a number of major roads with overturned traffic signs, tree branches and rocks. Smoke billowed from buildings that were ablaze. Video verified by Reuters showed armed police in the…
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Witnesses say 15 people died after Nigerian police opened fire with live ammunition on unarmed protesters

Witnesses say 15 people died after Nigerian police opened fire with live ammunition on unarmed protesters

ALEXIS AKWAGYIRAM and LIBBY GEORGE SOLDIERS opened fire on Nigerians protesting against police brutality in the Lekki district of the commercial capital Lagos on Tuesday, and at least two people were shot, four witnesses told Reuters. Thousands of Nigerians have demonstrated nationwide every day for nearly two weeks against a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), that rights groups had for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders. The unit was disbanded on October 11 but the protests have persisted with demonstrators calling for a raft of law enforcement reforms. "They started firing ammunition toward the crowd. They…
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