Rihanna, Biden, Clinton, others condemn attack on Nigerians by the military
The world has voiced condemnation over the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos on Tuesday October 20, 2020.
After 13 days of peaceful protest, Soldiers in the Lekki area of Nigeria’s commercial capital, on Tuesday evening, fired live ammunitions at young Nigerians protesting and demanding the disbandment of a rogue unit of the Nigerian Police Force – the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), notorious for killing, extorting and harassing young Nigerians.
The shooting by Nigerian soldiers, streamed live on the Instagram page of a disk jockey, DJ Switch was watched by more than 150,000 people from across the world.
President Muhammadu Buhari and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu now face heated criticism from different parts of the world for using force to dispel the peaceful and unarmed demonstrators against police brutality and extrajudicial killings that have thrived unchecked for more than two decades.
A former Democratic Presidential candidate in the United States, Hillary Clinton in a tweet a few hours after the shooting on Tuesday night, cautioning President Muhammadu Buhari against the killing of young protesters.
She tweeted:
“I’m calling on @mbuhari and the @hqnigerianarmy to stop killing young #EndSARS protesters. #StopNigeriaGovernment.”
Manchester United player Odion Ighalo who was in Paris for the Champions League match between his club and PSG during the shooting, said the incident left him sad and heartbroken.
“Nigerian government, you guys are a shame to the world for sending soldiers to the street to kill your own citizens, unarmed protesters,” Ighalo said in a video posted on his Twitter page on Tuesday night.
“I am ashamed of this government and we can’t take this anymore.”
American singer Beyonce who also condemned the shooting says she is heartbroken.
“I am heartbroken to see the senseless brutality taking place in Nigeria. There has to be an end to SARS,” Beyonce tweeted on Wednesday morning.
The Presidential candidate of the Democratic party in the United States, Joe Biden, also asked Buhari to put a stop to the killing of young and unarmed Nigerians protesters across the country.
“I urge President Buhari and the Nigerian military to cease the violent crackdown on protesters in Nigeria, which has already resulted in several deaths,” Biden said in a statement published on his official website.
Rihanna says she is heartbroken for Nigeria and described footage of the shooting as unbearable to watch.
“I can’t bare to see this torture and brutalisation that is continuing to affect nations across our planet! It’s such a betrayal to the citizens, the very people put in place to protect are the ones we are most afraid of being murdered by!” she tweeted.
“My heart is broken for Nigeria man!! It is unbearable to watch! I’m so proud of your strength and not letting up on the fight for what’s right! #EndSARS”
The Nigerian president in his usual style of deafening silence is yet to address the nation just as the nation’s broadcasting regulatory agency the National Broadcasting Commission has issued a statement subtly warning broadcast stations against using footage from the scene of the killings in order “not to embarrass government or cause disaffection”
Kamaru Usman described the situation as heartbreaking and challenged the President to address the nation.
