'Soldiers Told Us To Run Whilst They Shot At Us' - #EndSARS Protester Narrates

A participant of the #EndSARS protest at the Lekki tollgate, identified as Dabira Ayuku, has narrated her account of the event, stating that soldiers told people to run "whilst they shot at them".

Ayuku, in a petition submitted to the Lagos State Panel of Judicial Inquiry investigating the incident of 20 October 2020, said, “The soldiers were asking people to run, whilst they shot at them. I remember a particular soldier that kept dancing whilst he shot.

“The soldiers kept shooting at random and I saw people falling to the ground, injured or lifeless. I took cover behind the wheel of one of the trucks at the protest ground to shield myself from the bullets that were flying all over.

“A male protester, who identified me, walked towards me and attempted to sit beside me but was hit by a bullet before he could sit down beside me. I noticed more people being hit by bullets and with the help of others, we began lifting them from the ground to the stage truck.

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“Among the people placed on the truck, I saw four lifeless bodies on the stage truck that night and two on the floor.

“He appeared to be a senior military officer and also well known to the soldiers because they recognised his authority and obeyed his orders.

“I am apprehensive about my safety as some strange persons have been noticed visiting my house, asking after me, with some concerned persons duly alerting me of this suspicious and alarming visits and movement, a situation which has forced me to move away in fear of my life.”

The Nigerian Army maintains that its officers did not shoot at any protesters, averring that the soldiers present at the scene shot into the air and they were not live ammunitions but blanks.