Soldiers killed 15 people at Lekki tollgate — DJ Switch

At least 15 people were allegedly killed by the Nigerian soldiers who opened fire at peaceful demonstrators at Lekki Tollgate Plaza on Tuesday.

The allegation is being made by DJ Switch who was not only present when the shooting occured but who also streamed a live Instagram video from the scene.

Watch the video above.

DJ Switch said the demonstrators made a mistake by dumping some of the dead bodies at the feet of the soldiers. She said a young man who shielded her with his own body was shot in the back.

“I wish we hadn’t done it but we carried dead bodies and dumped them at the feet of the soldiers so that they could see what they did to us,” an emotional DJ Switch said in a video seen by The Realm News.

“I wish we didn’t do that. I wish we kept the bodies because they ended up throwing the bodies into their van.”

She condemned those creating parody social media accounts to spread fake news urging them to at least use those accounts to “copy and paste the truth”.

“I never said 78 people were killed,” she said. “I don’t know that. What I do know is as of when I was doing the live, seven people had died. When my phone’s battery ran out, we had counted about 15 people. I don’t know if it was more than that. We had a lot of people that had stray bullet wounds, gunshot wounds and all that. Seventy eight people, I don’t know where you got that information from.

“I saw another one that said my cousin died, please that’s not true,” she said.

“To Nigerian leaders, I urge you to please not insult the intelligence of Nigerians,” DJ Switch said.

She said she had been silent for a while because she was receiving medical treatment for the injuries she sustained at the protest. DJ Switch also said that the EndSARS demonstrations against police brutality must continue or societal injustice could last another 60 years if Nigeria misses the current opportunity.

“Let us continue,” she said. “I can’t wait to come back because I’m definitely going to be back on the streets and continue peacefully.”

“We need accountability. That is at the heart of this matter. People have to be brought to book. If you don’t bring justice to families, it will continue. We must speak. Do not give up.

“We must continue but we must do so peacefully. I condemn any form of violence. I condemn the burning of buses and people’s livelihoods. You may not know but you might be burning your fellow brother’s or sister’s workshop. You might burning the property of people who were at the protest,” she said.

UPDATED PARAGRAPH: Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who initially denied any fatality, later admitted that two people but not at the Lekki tollgate. He said he toured hospitals across the state but was yet to find anyone who was killed at the tollgate.

President Muhammadu Buhari refused to discuss the shooting when he met with his cabinet on Wednesday. He also refused to acknowledge it during a nationwide broadcast on Thursday night.

Sanwo-Olu had blamed the shooting on “forces beyond our direct control”. The governor later said soldiers were present at the scene, a claim the Nigerian Army had denied.

Under Nigerian law, only the president can deploy troops.