Wikipedia Lists Killing Of Protesters Among Nigerian Army’s Engagements

FOLLOWING the alleged killing of seven #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at Lekki Tollgate, a wealthy suburb of Lagos, on Tuesday, Wikipedia has listed “killing of peaceful protesters at Lekki Tollgate, Lagos” among engagements by the Nigerian Army. A visit to the Wikipedia page of the Nigerian Army on Wednesday confirmed this development.

There were nine other engagements attributed to the Nigerian Army, namely Boko Haram insurgency, invasion of The Gambia, Northern Mali war, and Nigeria-Cameroon border conflict.

Others are Nigerian Civil War, Congo Crisis, First Liberian Civil War, among others. About two weeks into the #EndSARS protests, the Nigerian Army reportedly deployed soldiers to the Lekki Tollgate, an epicentre of the protests, on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses said soldiers fired live ammunition at unarmed protesters around 7pm after lights at the tollgate were switched off and CCTV cameras removed by some persons.

The Nigerian Army has denied involvement in the killings, despite several pieces of video evidence.

But the state governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a live broadcast on Wednesday morning, said the army deployed troops to the protest ground – after announcing a curfew that was to start at 9pm.

Sanwo-Olu regretted the killings but noted that as a governor, the control of military forces was not under his purview. However, he said he was currently engaging the leadership of the Nigerian Army on the development.