Lagos burns as round-the-clock curfew imposed
Protesters march at Alausa, the Lagos State Secretariat, in Lagos on Tuesday, after the Governor of Lagos State, Sanwo Olu, declared 24-hour curfew in Nigeria's economic hub Lagos as violence flared in widespread protests that have rocked cities across the country.
Lagos, the port city of Nigeria was under a round-the-clock curfew enforced by police on Wednesday, the day after witnesses reported soldiers opening fire on civilians, in an incident a rights group said may have caused deaths.
The Lagos state governor said 30 people were hurt in the shooting during a demonstration at a toll gate in the Lekki district, a focal point of nearly two weeks of nationwide protests against allegations of systematic police brutality.
The governor said one man had died in hospital from a blow to the head. It was unclear if he was a protester.
President Muhammadu Buhari appealed for “understanding and calm.”
On Wednesday, fires were burning across Lagos and residents of the districts of Ebute Mette, Lagos Island and Okota reported hearing gunfire.
A live feed from local broadcaster Arise TV showed armed police speaking to groups of angry locals, and dozens of charred buses on the Lagos mainland.
Nigerian authorities imposed the curfew on Lagos on Tuesday after the governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, said the protests had turned violent, including the torching of police stations.
Thousands of Nigerians, many driven closer to poverty by the economic fallout from a coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 60,000, killed 1,125 and triggered lockdowns, have demonstrated in protests that initially focused on a police unit, the Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
The unit — which rights groups for years accused of extortion, harassment, torture and murders — was disbanded on October 11 but the protests have persisted.
Buhari said on Wednesday he was committed to providing justice for victims of brutality.
