Yesterday was a sad day in Nigeria’s history and the same can be said for today, Wednesday, 21st October, 2020. Through the EndSARS protests, Nigerians peacefully asked that a rogue police unit stop killing them and be disbanded, and the Nigerian state has met them with violence at every turn. Here’s a quick summary of some of the happenings today connected to the #EndSARS protests. Please note that this post contains content that may be triggering.
The Nigerian Army in a series of tweets have denied any involvement in the massacre of Nigerian citizens peacefully protesting at the Lekki-VI tollgate yesterday 20th October, 2020.
This is despite several reports from witnesses at the Toll gate of members of the Nigerian Army shooting at EndSARS protesters, as well as a video showing men in Nigerian Army uniforms herding protesters at the Toll gate while shooting into the air.
Lagos State Government, Jide Sanwo-Olu, in an address today, stated that the TollGate Massacre on EndSARS protesters and Nigerian citizens was carried out by forces beyond his control. Sanwo-olu also denied that any fatalities had been recorded following the massacre at Lekki Toll Gate yesterday, in spite of the fact that over 100k people watched a man die following the shootings at the Toll Gate on DJ Switch’s live. In the same address, he mentioned that he had earlier visited morgues in the state and also instructed that flags in the state be flown at half mast, a curious instruction since, according to him, no lives were lost. In a series of tweets accompanied by the usual photo ops, he also expressed sadness over the massacre that took place at the Lekki TollGate.
In the course of the day, several lives were lost in different parts of Lagos as policemen went on a shooting spree, shooting at unarmed and fleeing citizens. Videos of an unarmed citizen being executed by policemen was also shared.
In the midst of all of this, several calls were made by citizens asking where President Muhammadu Buhari was and why he hadn’t addressed the nation, in the light of recent events. Instead of addressing the nation like any good president would, he was busy presiding over the Federal Executive Council, where no mention was made about the state of the country.
Speaking of Presidential addresses, even Ghana’s president, Nana Akufo-Addo, gave an address to Nigerians before our very own elected president.
It was a sad day also for the Fourth Estate, as several media outlets had their premises attacked earlier today. These include TVC News, The Nation Newspapers, and Channels TV.
Several other buildings and locations, both government-affiliated and privately owned were also attacked today by thugs not connected to the EndSARS movement A house belonging to the mother of Lagos State’s Governor, Jide Sanwo-Olu was also attacked and razed earlier today. It is reported that she was escorted out of the house by soldiers late yesterday, following the massacre at the Lekki TollGate.
In Ogun, hoodlums attacked several locations burning a police station in Atan-Ota, leading to the death of the Divisional Crime Officer and one other victim.
In Port Harcourt, shootings took place with the police shooting at citizens around Mile One, Ikwerre Road. Surprisingly, the citizens seemed a bit unfazed as seen in videos.
In Edo State, a police helicopter was “seized” by youths after landing in an open area in Oluku.
Please reach out to @MentallyAwareNG on Twitter if you are feeling overwhelmed and need assistance. Also make sure to take some time off social media if you need to. Please guard your mental health as strongly as you would guard your physical health.
