The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) says it will take legal actions against the Nigerian military for shooting unarmed protesters in the Lekki area of Lagos state.
On Tuesday, soldiers fired at unarmed Nigerians at the Lekki Toll Gate where protesters have gathered to demonstrate peacefully against police brutality.
The incident happened a few hours before the curfew announced by Babajide Sanwo-Olu, governor of Lagos, was scheduled to take effect.
Several protesters sustained various degrees of injury while some were reportedly killed.
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In a statement, Olumide Akpata, NBA president, said the incident showed the recklessness and lawlessness in the country.
Akpata explained that even if the protesters had violated the curfew order, “such a misdemeanor or breach did not warrant the use of live ammunition by the Nigerian military to confront otherwise peaceful, unarmed and defenseless protesters”.
NBA called on the army to identify soldiers who opened gunfire on protesters.
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“The military high command is hereby requested to immediately identify and name the officers involved in this gross professional misconduct for immediate prosecution and dismissal in line with extant laws,” the statement read.
“The NBA shall immediately commence legal proceedings at all relevant fora (both locally and internationally) against the Nigerian Military and other relevant authorities, on behalf of the families of the victims, for abuse of power, disregard of rules of engagement and the infringement of the fundamental rights (including the right to life) of the affected citizens.
“Given the degenerating nature of the crisis, an emergency meeting of the national executive committee (the highest decision-making body of the NBA) will be convened within the next 48 hours to review the state of the nation and take other appropriate steps to decisively deal with the situation and prevent the nation from further going adrift.”
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