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The Niger Delta Development Commission has made a fresh promise to pay allowances and tuition of 94 persons under its scholarship program.

The NDDC had failed to pay students, who benefited from its scholarship scheme since 2018.

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The commission had in September sent a delegate to the United Kingdom to verify the academic status of scholars, who benefitted from its scholarship programme.

The visit was also to ascertain the number of beneficiaries of its scholarship scheme studying in the country.

Following the verification, the NDDC had yet to commence the payment of the scholars.

To compel the commission to pay the tuition and allowances from 2018, the scholars are planning to embark on a week-long protest at the Nigeria High Commission, London.

“With regards to the recent claimed verification exercise by our sponsors (NDDC), to the remaining 94 unpaid 2018 scholars, the commission’s failure to pay our fees and upkeep for two years has led to another massive protest to shut down activities at the Nigeria High Commission, London, starting from Monday 2nd November.

“We have collectively decided to shut down activities at the Nigeria High Commission in London for a week due to the failed promises from our sponsors the NDDC after a claimed verification exercise,” the protest notice reads.

Following the announcement of the planned protest, the NDDC has said it will commence the payment of the 94 scholars.

Explaining the reason for the delay, Director, Corporate Affairs, Charles Odili, cited “unforeseen circumstances” and “upheavals that followed the EndSARS protests” as reasons for the delay in the commencement of the payment.

Odili said, “Having concluded the verification exercise, which involved the registration of all scholars and the confirmation of their claims with the various universities, payment of the outstanding fees were to commence immediately.

“Unfortunately, some unforeseen circumstances, including the upheavals that followed the EndSARS protests by youths, constituted stumbling blocks for the speedy implementation of the payment plan.

“Before the protests, which slowed down activities, the NDDC Interim Management Committee, IMC, had released $5,910,000 million through the Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN, to offset all the verified outstanding foreign scholarship obligations, despite the non-passage of NDDC 2020 budget by the National Assembly.

“Obviously, the CBN was not immune to the sad realities bedevilling the nation in the past few weeks. However, the bank has promised to treat the case of the scholarship beneficiaries with utmost dispatch.”

The NDDC urged the students to exercise patience, promising to ensure the payment of the entire allowances.

“We appeal for understanding and patience from the students. We urge them not to allow themselves to be used as tools by those sponsoring devious campaigns to discredit the IMC through protests at the Nigerian Embassy in London.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the postgraduate scholarship Scheme, which is part of our efforts to develop professional manpower to help in the transformation of the Niger Delta region,” the NDDC added.

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Some concerned lawyers have given Yusuf Bichi, Director-General of the Department of State Services, a seven-day ultimatum to explain how the recruitment exercise recently carried out by the secret police across the country was done.

The legal practitioners under the Network of Lawyers for Good Governance in Nigeria made the request through a letter written to Mr Bichi.

DG of DSS, Yusuf Bichi.

The group of lawyers said that there were misgivings among the public about the lopsidedness in the recruitment exercise, which negates the federal character principle enshrined in the constitution of the country.

They added that they are aware that the number of applicants, who applied for the recruitment had been "inequitably concentrated" in a particular region of the country to the disadvantage of others.

The letter jointly signed by Vincent Adodo, Myson Nejo, Joshua Oluwaseun, Helen Gbor, Semire Onifade among others, reads, "Given the need to preserve the unity of Nigeria on the principles of justice and equity, it has become imperative that we request that your good office furnishes us with the following information within seven days next of your receipt of this letter; names, state and local government area of origin of persons who applied for employment into Directorate of State Service (DSS) in each of the 36 states of the federation and federal capital territory.

"The cumulative number of persons who applied employment into the Directorate of State Service (DSS) in each of the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory.

"The names, state, and local government area of origin of successful applicants in the year 2020 recruitment exercise of the Directorate of State Services (DSS).

"And the cumulative number of successful applicants in the year 2020 recruitment exercise into the Directorate of State Service (DSS) from each of the federation and the federal capital territory."

See Also VIDEO NEWS Abba, Son Of DSS Director-General Yusuf Bichi And His Family Members Regularly Fly Chartered Flights At The Expense Of The Service, Get SSS Operatives As Escorts 0 Comments 1 Month Ago

 

The lawyers threatened to take legal action by dragging the Director-General of the agency to court if he failed to yield to their request within seven days.

SaharaReporters gathered that many of the applicants, who applied for different positions in the agency, were only asked to submit their credentials.

Some applicants, who spoke with our correspondent, said they were disappointed after the commission did not carry out any screening exercise before shortlisting successful candidates.

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Some concerned lawyers have given Yusuf Bichi, Director-General of the Department of State Services, a seven-day ultimatum to explain how the recruitment exercise recently carried out by the secret police across the country was done.

The legal practitioners under the Network of Lawyers for Good Governance in Nigeria made the request through a letter written to Mr Bichi.

DG of DSS, Yusuf Bichi.

The group of lawyers said that there were misgivings among the public about the lopsidedness in the recruitment exercise, which negates the federal character principle enshrined in the constitution of the country.

They added that they are aware that the number of applicants, who applied for the recruitment had been "inequitably concentrated" in a particular region of the country to the disadvantage of others.

The letter jointly signed by Vincent Adodo, Myson Nejo, Joshua Oluwaseun, Helen Gbor, Semire Onifade among others, reads, "Given the need to preserve the unity of Nigeria on the principles of justice and equity, it has become imperative that we request that your good office furnishes us with the following information within seven days next of your receipt of this letter; names, state and local government area of origin of persons who applied for employment into Directorate of State Service (DSS) in each of the 36 states of the federation and federal capital territory.

"The cumulative number of persons who applied employment into the Directorate of State Service (DSS) in each of the 36 states of the federation and the federal capital territory.

"The names, state, and local government area of origin of successful applicants in the year 2020 recruitment exercise of the Directorate of State Services (DSS).

"And the cumulative number of successful applicants in the year 2020 recruitment exercise into the Directorate of State Service (DSS) from each of the federation and the federal capital territory."

See Also VIDEO NEWS Abba, Son Of DSS Director-General Yusuf Bichi And His Family Members Regularly Fly Chartered Flights At The Expense Of The Service, Get SSS Operatives As Escorts 0 Comments 1 Month Ago

 

The lawyers threatened to take legal action by dragging the Director-General of the agency to court if he failed to yield to their request within seven days.

SaharaReporters gathered that many of the applicants, who applied for different positions in the agency, were only asked to submit their credentials.

Some applicants, who spoke with our correspondent, said they were disappointed after the commission did not carry out any screening exercise before shortlisting successful candidates.

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Residents of Ondo State, who participated in the nationwide demonstration demanding an end to police brutality, have continued to share their experiences of the protest.

The residents, mostly young people, said the protest, which started peacefully, ended in violence as a result of the force employed by the police to chase them away from the streets.

#EndSARS: Protesting Ondo Youth Shut Down Ilesha/Akure/Benin Express Road SaharaReporters Media

According to them, the protest was also hijacked by thugs, who created chaos all across the state.

Some of the protesters, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said they were planning a daily sit-out as part of their strategy when the protest turned violent.

One of them, Olamide Ofakunrin, said he took part in the protest in Ondo for three days before the police began to chase people away with gunshots.

He said, "While we were demanding all these on the streets of Ondo, the same police and security agencies started shooting at us.

"People were wounded and rushed to the hospital for treatment as a result of the attack by law enforcement agents.”

Gbenga Akira, a young man, who participated in the protest in Ore town, said they were peaceful with their demands until police started shooting at them.

He said, "We are not hoodlums and we were very peaceful in our demands and they were also shooting at our parents who joined us to demand a better Nigeria. We had to take some of them to the hospital for treatment.

"Due to the attitude displayed mostly by the police, we retired and thugs had to take over and started destroying both public and private properties."

Another protester, Sandra Ilemobade, said they had to source blood for those shot by the police.

She said, "The way they (police) shot at people during the protest made me feel sad and at a time I started asking myself if they had not been affected by these anti-people policies of the government that we are all fighting for.

"People were shot and wounded by the police. We had to rush some to the trauma centre in Ondo and began to also source for blood due to the injuries sustained. It was a harrowing experience."

A photographer, Kunle Akinyemi, who joined the protest in Ore, said they sought blood donation from members of the public online in order to save the lives of those shot by the police.

He said, "I had to join them in pleading with people to donate blood. On social media, we opened a blood bank and for two days we were pleading with people to donate blood for those who lost much blood. It was the police that opened fire on them because they were protesting.”

The police have so far arrested 18 persons in connection with the violence and destruction of properties in the state.

Many of the suspects arrested have denied involvement in the crimes they were accused of by the police.

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Human rights lawyer, Malachy Ugwumadu, has described as illegal the oath of secrecy members of the Judicial Panel of Inquiry in Lagos were forced to swear to the governor.

Ugwumadu said it contravened the independence of the panel as the youth demanded.

Malachy Ugwumadu SaharaReporters Media

He further wondered what would happen when the governor comes before the committee since members had sworn loyalty to the panel.

“The oath of secrecy identifies the persons to take it and expressly provides that it will be sworn before a head of ministry or a person authorised in that before.

“Certainly that cannot be the governor even if the heads of the ministries who are the respective commissioners may be appointed by the governor. Thus, from the standpoint of the law, the oaths administered or sought to be administered by the governor are illegal.”

See Also #EndSARS Oath Of Secrecy For Lagos Judicial Panel Is Illegal, Nigerians Say On Twitter 0 Comments 3 Days Ago

Temitope Majekodunmi, one of the youth representatives on the panel, had on Tuesday posted the oath of secrecy on his Twitter handle, sparking outrage among Nigerians.

Ugwumadu said if the oath was sworn, the impartiality of the panel would have been brought into question.

The two youth representatives, Rinu Oduaya and Majekodunmi, refused to sign the oath.

BBC Pidgin reported on Tuesday that the two youth reps, however, signed an undertaken not to reveal anything said in the chamber.

A source further stated that the undertaken was signed to protect the identity and statements made by victims.

“Without prejudice to the very essence and purpose of oaths of secrecy administered on persons which is to preserve classified information and materials in the management of the affairs of government, any such oath to be sworn before the governor and not the Attorney-General of the state as the head of the relevant Ministry of Justice immediately communicates the posture and signal of loyalty to the governor and Government of Lagos State. This is contrary to the conditions of independence, transparency, neutrality and impartiality demanded by the youths and promised in the interests of Justice and for this exercise.

“In any case, it is likely that, at some point and given the circumstances of this inquiry, Mr Governor himself may be required to testify or give evidence (maybe by proxy in view of the immunity he enjoys under S. 308 of the 1999 constitution) or even send memoranda or petition. At that point, where will the Independence and impartiality of the panel be when members of the panel have sworn all manners of oaths including that of secrecy to him?”

The sitting which will take place on Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays for the next six months, is being streamed online by different platforms.

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Nigerian human rights activist and Co-convener of #BringBackOurGirls advocacy group, Aisha Yesufu, lamented on the ill treatment she has been receiving from fellow Muslims over her involvement in the nationwide protest that saw Nigerians demanding an end to police brutality in the country.

Yesufu said she was being attacked and cursed in mosques for being one of the leaders of the massive demonstration that attracted global attention.

Aisha Yesufu

In a post on Twitter on Friday, she said, “Heard I am being cursed in mosques! People finish praying and take time out to curse me in their prayers.

“I have asked they should please let me know how many of these curses they rained on me when I was making the same demands during GEJ! We are all already cursed in Nigeria.” 

Recall that a Kannywood star, Zainab Abdullahi, recently called on Northerners to kill the activist.

See Also Sahara Reporters Kannywood Actress, Zainab Abdullahi, Asks Northerners To Kill Nigerian Activist, Aisha Yesufu 0 Comments 6 Days Ago

Abdullahi, who is a member of the Buhari Support Group, and Buhari Media Centre, in an Instagram post described Yesufu as a Jew, who must be attacked by all means.

Many activists including Aisha had joined Nigerian youth on the streets to protest against police brutality, oppression and bad governance in the country.

 

See Also Sahara Reporters Another Kannywood Star Asks Northerners To Attack Aisha Yesufu, Calls #ENDSARS Protesters Infidels 0 Comments 5 Days Ago

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Tope Temokun, a human rights lawyer based in Ondo State, has asked the Judicial Panel of Inquiry set up by the state government to look into cases of police brutality, killings, and extortion, to stop demanding death certificates of victims of police killings from their family members.

This panel called on members of the public especially victims of police brutality to begin the submission of written memoranda/petitions.

Speaking on Friday in Akure, the state capital, Tomekun kicked against the demand and explained that most deaths that occurred from police brutality do not usually allow for the gathering of direct evidence.

The legal practitioner added that for the panel to genuinely tow the path of justice for the aggrieved, it should stop the demand for death certificates of victims, who lost their lives to police brutality.

According to him, the consequential effect of making photographs, death certificates and or forensic evidence as requirements for the presentation of memorandum for compensation by the family or dependent(s) of the dead victim would only incite denial of access to justice for those with genuine cases, who do or did not meet up with the requirement.

He said, "The essential liberal character of the panel would have been lost to undue legalism.

"The interested parties who could not show proof of relationship to victims should be allowed to sponsor and submit a memorandum for the benefit of indigent members of the public."

Secretary of the panel, Mr Lanre Amuda, had asked members of the public, who have been victims of police brutality to submit a memorandum to the panel latest Monday, November 16, 2020, at the Ondo State Security Network Agency (Amotekun Corps).

 

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Corps Marshal of the Federal Road Safety Corps, Dr Boboye Oyeyemi, has asked personnel of the agency in all formations across the country to return to their duty posts after the nationwide #ENDSARS protest.

In a statement on Friday by the Corps Public Education Officer, Bisi Kazeem, Oyeyemi ordered the commanding officers to keep the roads safe, enforce maximum compliance to road traffic regulations and safety guidelines.

FRSC Boss, Boboye Oyeyemi.

While mourning the victims of the road traffic crash in Enugu State, the Corps Marshal confirmed that out of the 56 people involved in the accident, 21 persons lost their lives.

He revealed that the crash, which occurred at Nkwo/Mmaku Junction along Old Enugu/Okigwe Road at about 4:00pm on Wednesday, October 28, 2020, involved a Mercedes Benz Bus (ENU 811 KU) conveying school children and a Mark truck (KPP 247 XA).

He said, “Irrespective of the incessant attacks that led to the burning, looting, arson and damaging of FRSC properties in various locations occasioned by the #EndSARS protest, the Corps is still deeply committed to the full realisation of its corporate mandate; as such, will not be dissuaded from carrying out its humanitarian work of keeping the roads safe, even amidst the risks on lives and properties of personnel.”

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A coalition of human rights activists has issued a seven-point demand to the Nigerian Government in relation to the agitation to end police brutality in the country.

The coalition known as the New Nigeria Network is made up of the Take It Back Movement, Radical Agenda Movement in the Nigeria Bar Association, Federation of Informal Workers’ Organisation of Nigeria, Coalition for Revolution, Movement for a Socialist Alternative, and Socialist Workers and Youth League among others.

#EndSARS

The coalition said the demand for an end to police brutality and bad governance in Nigeria was an unfinished task.

Speaking during a meeting in Lagos, Chairman of RAMNIBA, Adesina Ogunlana, said investigations into the brutality against peaceful demonstrators by security agents during the #EndSARS protests would be followed up by activists.

Among several other demands, the coalition is seeking the immediate replacement of the Inspector-General of Police; Mohammed Adamu, the immediate reversal of power and fuel price hikes; immediate stoppage of jumbo salaries and allowances for political office holders; all public officials to be placed on national minimum wage; the drastic upward funding of education and health sectors and immediate deprivatization of power and oil sectors nationalisation to be restored.

Ogunlana added that the nationwide protest had shown that Nigerians were waking up to stand against oppression, noting that the demonstration is a revolution waiting to befall the country.

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Liberia has launched a new national carrier to begin flight operations.

The West African nation has named the airline, Lone Star Air, 30 years after the former national carrier became defunct.

George Weah, Liberia’s President, while inaugurating the national carrier on Friday, said, “It would connect our country to our region and to the world.

“It is my dream, my hope and my ambition that we will very soon see Lone Star Air, the wings of Liberia, flying our flag in international skies, shining so brightly.”

It is unclear when the new airline will begin operation and neither Weah’s office nor the Ministry of Transport was immediately available for comment, AFP reports.

The airline initially plans to operate flights between Monrovia and regional hubs such as Abidjan in Ivory Coast or Lagos in Nigeria.

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President of the Confederation of African Football, Ahmad Ahmad, has tested positive for Coronavirus and has begun self-isolating at a hotel in Cairo, Egypt.

This was contained in a statement on the website of the continental football governing body on Friday.

According to the statement, Ahmad, who is also a FIFA Vice President, had been in Morocco for the Confederation Cup club final on Sunday and started showing mild flu symptoms after returning to Egypt on Wednesday.

“The President after his arrival to Cairo on October 28 presented mild flu symptoms and submitted to the COVID-19 protocol.

”Today, the test results are positive and the President immediately self-isolate for at least the next 14 days at his hotel.

“All those who have come into contact with Ahmad over the past seven days, especially during his trip to Morocco for the Confederation Cup, have been informed and requested to take the necessary measures.”

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The Greater Noida police in India have busted a gang allegedly run by two foreign nationals involved in cloning people's ATMs and then fraudulently withdrawing money, Hindustantimes.com reports.

The suspects, Omon Benson, 30, from Nigeria and Jonson Usaro, from Kenya, allegedly fixed two cloning devices in ATMs and skimmed over 1,000 card details and passwords and withdrew a total of ₹50 lakh from various accounts in three months, said the police.

Baljeet Singh, the inspector of the Gautam Budh Nagar cyber cell, said the police had received multiple complaints of cyber fraud in recent months.

The cases were registered in police stations in Ecotech III, Badarpur, Sector Beta II, Sector 24, Sector 58, areas, etc. 

On October 4, Arun Kumar Singh, a resident of Kasna, filed a complaint at the Sector Beta II police station alleging that someone fraudulently withdrew ₹10,000 from his bank account.

"I received an SMS about the withdrawal. I had not used my debit card or cheque to withdraw money," he said. "A case was registered against unknown persons under Section 66 of the IT Act."

More complaints were registered, revealing that money was fraudulently withdrawn without the account holder's knowledge/consent. The inspector said the police team scanned CCTV footage from multiple ATM kiosks and identified two suspects who were seen tampering with the machine.

Ankur Aggarwal, the deputy commissioner of police, Noida Central, said, "After rewriting the cards which the suspects used to approach unmanned ATM kiosks to withdraw money up to ₹50,000 depending upon the cards' withdrawal limits and available balance in the bank account. 

"They used to spend some of the money and keep some for their expenses. The police investigation shows the rest of the money was sent by them to their native country Nigeria, with the help of Nigerian hawala traders operating in the NCR region," he said.

"The cyber cell on Wednesday arrested two foreign nationals from their rented accommodation in Sector Omicron in Greater Noida. We recovered 96 rewritable debit cards, two card cloning modules, two laptops, seven mobile phones, two pinhole cameras, one data card, two pen drives, one memory card, and ₹10,000," Singh said.

"During interrogation, the suspects revealed that they used to place cloning modules in the swipe machines of ATMs and also secretly fixed the pinhole camera to capture the keyboard. 

"Once a customer swiped the card, his/her card details would be cloned. The suspects later removed these devices from ATMs and made rewritable cards for each customer's stolen data, and then withdrew money illegally," he said.

The inspector said that the suspects had cheated about ₹50 lakh from over 1,000 people in the last six months. "The suspects were produced in court and sent to judicial custody," he said.

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Five years after German Chancellor Angela Merkel opened the country's borders to refugees from Syria and Iraq, the country has deported migrants in their thousands, Nigerians inclusive.

Many of them are either drugged or placed in physical restraints, the Daily Mail reported.

A Nigerian interviewed in Leipzig, in the east of Germany, William Osaruyi, told the UK-based news site that he first entered Europe through the Italian island of Sardinia, via the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.

"I was sent from Sardinia to the Italian mainland and lived on the streets. There, an Italian man I met bought me a train ticket to Dusseldorf in Germany. He said: 'Try it'. I thought it would be better," he narrated.

"I went straight to the German police to claim asylum, and they put me in the Leipzig camp and left me there.

"I was handed my deportation papers. Germany has given me nothing. All I do is hide. I left the camp so they couldn't send me back and I slept on a friend's floor."

It is estimated that 200,000 failed asylum seekers like Osaruyi, illegal entrants, and foreigners convicted of crimes in their own countries or Germany are scheduled to be listed for deportation flights. Many of them came to Germany in 2015 when Merkel indicated the country's willingness to accept refugees from war-torn Syria.

If German authorities pick up Osaruyi, however, the mode of deportation might be traumatic.

According to the news outlet, the migrants on board deportation planes are outnumbered by hand-picked security officers, many drawn from the police, wearing protective gear to stop attacks.

One such flight that left Leipzig carried 45 Afghans to their capital city of Kabul. The plane had 70 officers on guard throughout. Some of the deportees were forced to wear physical restraints that limit their upper body movement to reduce the threat of violence.

Another migrant, Mohammed Saleh, said he watched an African being carried off like a corpse.

"I watched the police come early one morning. They took an African away to the deportation plane in a police car. They had drugged him to keep him quiet. He was carried off like a corpse and never seen again. I witnessed this with my own eyes," he said.

Explaining the reasons behind the extreme measure, a German police union chief, Jorg Radek, said recently that many of the deportees are in an 'exceptional state emotionally'.

Meanwhile, Osaruyi is stock between two walls, as life for illegal African migrants in Germany is not pleasant.

Narrating conditions in Leipzig, where 80 per cent of some 2,000 migrants are Africans, an Iranian who asked not to be named said, "The Germans have let refugees down. They treat us like cattle. They talk to us like two-year-olds, as though we can never be as intelligent as them because we are not Germans.

"They are deporting people daily. Eighty per cent of the 2,000 people in Leipzig's main migrant camp are African. I now have a flat, but I lived in the camp when I came to Germany.

"The Africans there are afraid. They are paid less than a euro a day by the German government to clean the place. That is modern slavery."

Despite Merkel's acceptance of more than a million refugees in 2015, the EU has for over three years now, come together to sponsor different projects aimed at stopping massive migration to the economic bloc.

To stop people coming in through the Mediterranean, the EU has allegedly funded militia groups in Libya to serve as coastguards.

These guards, according to reports, now handle most of the rescue operations on the sea and return the survivors to detention camps, where they are made to wait in horror for an EU-sponsored Assisted Voluntary Return programme flight back to their homeland.

The AVR, which is handled by the International Organisation for Migration, tries to help returnees resettle in their home countries with small business capital.

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A former spokesperson for the Nigerian Army, Sani Usman, says soldiers only fired blank bullets at #EndSARS protesters in Lekki, not live ammunition as reported.

He made the claim on Thursday during a programme on Arise Television.

Usman said contrary to the social media posts that many protesters were killed in the incident, the blank ammunition used was not capable of killing anyone.

He said there were enough reasons for the involvement and invitation of the military in the protest, citing reports of violence in parts of the state as a justification.

He accused the Amnesty International of politicising the issue and lying against the military.

"If you look at the canisters, they were blank ammo, and blank ammo doesn't even kill," he said. "At a close range, maybe 100-metres, it will have some pigmentation on your skin. Let's leave the commission of enquiry to do its job. See Also #EndSARS Nigerian Army Confirms SaharaReporters Story, Reveals Lagos State Government Invited Soldiers To Attack Peaceful Protesters At Lekki Toll Gate 0 Comments 2 Days Ago

"But it is very dangerous for anybody to politicise security in this country. The military is a symbol of national unity and national power; they should be insulated from all these politics.

"Remember the military are armed, and by the nature of their training, they are trained to kill, and I think the military in its wisdom, instead of using live ammunition, decided to use blank armour which is meant for training." See Also #EndSARS REVEALED: Nigerian Soldiers Involved In Lekki Massacre Took Eight Bodies To Bonny Camp Clinic 0 Comments 4 Days Ago

He added that the military should be commended for avoiding "serious collateral damage" during the shooting.

The Amnesty International had called on Nigerian authorities to stop attempts to cover up the Lekki toll gate massacre. 

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