UPDATED: Security Operatives Storm Lekki #EndSARS Protest Scene, Open Fire

 

Pandemonium broke out in the Lekki Toll Gate Area of Lagos State on Tuesday as armed security personnel stormed the scene of the #EndSARS protests and opened fire at protesters.

Several are feared killed, while many others sustained gunshot wounds.

Some videos from eyewitnesses at the scene of the incident showed some persons bleeding seriously, while others tried to extract the bullets.

Others were seen administering CPR to some injured persons, to resuscitate them.

The incident comes hours after the Lagos State Government declared a 24-hour curfew as part of efforts to stop the violence which had broken out in some parts of the state by criminal elements who have been hijacking the protests.

Although the curfew was to commence at 4:00 pm, many were still seen protesting across the state.

At the Lekki Toll Gate which has been one of the major converging points, peaceful and unarmed protesters were still seen gathered in large numbers, hours after the curfew was to have commenced.

The situation, however, took a turn for the worse around 7:00 pm when the security operatives stormed the area and started shooting sporadically.

 

Read Also: Lagos Government Declares 24-Hour Curfew

Meanwhile, the state government in a tweet at 7:08 pm noted that the curfew would not start until 9:00 pm, to allow those stuck in traffic to get to their homes.

 

 

 

 

Amid the confusion, there have been several reports of people being rushed in their hundreds to the hospital.

 

 

Some of the youths who were still at the scene of the incident at about 10:30pm told Channels Television that they were protesting peacefully when the armed security operatives came and opened fire at them.

“We were protesting peacefully after comedian, AY addressed us. There was nothing, we were still protesting peacefully. Then immediately, the street lights went off,” one of the protesters said on the News @ 10.

“People started shooting at us. We were able to recognise them, they were putting on uniform, they were military men, soldiers.

“We were lying down, waving our flags, telling them we are protesting peacefully, yet they were shooting directly at us.

“It wasn’t to drive us away, it was to kills us”.