In the heat of the protest happening at Surulere, a man was gunned down by the anti-kidnapping unit. It is unclear as to whether he was a protester or just a bystander, as there are varying descriptions of his role by social media users.
Here's what happened, as narrated by a Twitter user @seyialbert_ who was one of the protesters at the venue.
There were only about 50 protesters at the anti-kidnapping unit of the Police Force situated at Surulere, just before the national stadium, when the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) officers, who had been reportedly disbanded, shot in the air 5 times.
Protesters present at the scene wondered why the officers would shoot when the protest conducted was a peaceful one.
The officers threatened to shoot more, causing the protesters to get more agitated, leading them to hurl stones at the officers.
READ ALSO: (VIDEO) #EndSARS: Protesters Block Off Murtala Muhammed Toll Gate
To ensure that the protesters did not advance any further, 10 protesters formed a "barricade" to keep the protesters from moving any further, although it was "hard to contain", nothing happened.
Following the response of the protesters, more officers of the unit stepped out with guns and started shooting, leading to the loss of life.
What happened in Surulere:
— se:al (@seyialbert_) October 12, 2020
1. We got to the Anti-kidnapping unit (just after Stadium).
2. We were just about 50 when SARS shot 5x in the air. Protesters got angry. Why would you shoot?#StopPoliceBrutality #SarsMustEnd https://t.co/NgiXShXSim
3. SARS kept threatening to shoot more & it got people angrier. Some stones started flying.
4. 10 of us formed a barricade to stop protesters from charging forward. It was quite hard to contain, but nothing crazy happened.
5. Next thing, more SARS officials came out with guns.— se:al (@seyialbert_) October 12, 2020
6. Non-stop shooting started immediately.#SarsMustEnd #EndPoliceBrutality
— se:al (@seyialbert_) October 12, 2020
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