Posted by Samuel on Sun 18th Apr, 2021 - tori.ng
Sarah Ibrahim, a protester, who said she witnessed the shooting by soldiers at the Lekki tollgate, testified before the panel on Saturday.
File photo
PREMIUM TIMES reports that a woman, who appeared before the Lagos panel investigating police abuses, has said she believes that no fewer than 10 people were killed at the Lekki tollgate in Lagos State last October during the #EndSARS protest against police brutality.
Sarah Ibrahim, a protester, who said she witnessed the shooting by soldiers at the Lekki tollgate, testified before the panel on Saturday.
She said at least 10 persons were killed during the October 20 incident.
Ibrahim, who said she was a volunteer at the protest, said among those shot was an elderly man who came from Ikorodu.
She also said she saw a soldier throwing a body into one of the army vans.
According to Premium Times, the witness, who came with several videos and pictures as evidence to buttress her claim, explained that the Lekki tollgate was chosen as a protest ground because of the CCTV coverage and uninterrupted power supply.
She said the Lekki Concession Company, allegedly acting on an instruction, deliberately removed the CCTV camera and switched off the lights, including the billboard light in the area.
The LCC had testified before the panel, saying it did nothing wrong and had no intention to sabotage the protest.
The judge admitted the 95 pieces of evidence presented by Ms Ibrahim and marked them ‘exhibit A’.
Ms Ibrahim said the protesters had three drones in the area during the demonstration which revealed that there were two cameras at the Sandfill area that the soldiers emerged from.
There were also two cameras, one facing the LCC office and the other facing the tollgate before they were all removed by the uniformed staff of the LCC before the shooting began, she said.
She had earlier explained that her friend, “a member of APC (All Progressives Congress)” in the Lagos House of Assembly, had called to warn her to stay off the protest ground on October 20.
She quoted her friend as saying that “what they are planning at the tollgate today, my heart cannot take it.”
She noted that the Nigerian Army officers started shooting from the Sandfill area before they got to the Lekki tollgate.
“I saw people running towards the stage truck, I didn’t know what was happening, …and I told the person with the mic that they are coming. I never imagined the Nigerian Army would shoot that way at people…while the gunshot was happening, more people came from the shanties, and they started singing (the National Anthem) and waving the Nigerian flag,” she recalled.