The situation remained extremely tense, Wednesday October 21 in Lagos, the day after the repression of peaceful demonstrations which left 12 dead according to Amnesty International.

The sprawling Lagos had emptied of its 20 million inhabitants, asked to stay at home while a total curfew was imposed.

But in some neighborhoods, new violence broke out between the police and young people who refused to respect this curfew.

Several shots were fired in different parts of the city, according to witnesses to AFP, some claiming that protesters were shot dead.

A 24-year-old young man died in an ambulance that transported him to hospital, blocked by the police because of clashes, said on Twitter two figures of the protest who coordinate the sending of aid to protesters, Moe Odele and Feyikemi Abudu.

The headquarters of a television station, known for its links to a prominent ruling party politician, was also set on fire, along with a major bus station and many other private and public buildings.

"Kill without worrying about the consequences"

Ten people died at the Lekki tollgate in southern Lagos on Tuesday, where the army opened fire on thousands of demonstrators around 7 p.m., according to the human rights NGO.

In Alausa, a district in central Lagos where another peaceful rally was organized, at least two demonstrators were killed, and another seriously injured, by fire from the police, the organization added.

"The soldiers clearly had an intention, to kill without worrying about the consequences", accuses Osai Ojigho, director of Amnesty International in Nigeria.

"Those killed or wounded during these two gatherings were taken away by the soldiers," says the NGO.

In Nigeria, "it's like a Pandora's box has opened"

00:53

Lekki's toll was the epicenter of the popular protest that has shaken Nigeria for nearly two weeks, Africa's leading economic power, and the continent's most populous country.

Thousands of young people demonstrate against police violence and the power in place accused of bad governance.

To date, at least 30 people, including two police officers, have died in these protests.

International convictions

European Union (EU) and UN condemn violence, EU deeming "crucial that those responsible for these abuses be brought to justice", UN calling for "an end to brutality and police abuse in Nigeria ".

"It seems pretty clear that the Nigerian forces used excessive force, shooting and killing with live ammunition," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said.

"If reports of the lighting and surveillance cameras being turned off before the shooting were to be confirmed, this could suggest that this attack on peaceful protesters was premeditated, planned and coordinated," he said. she adds.

The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for its part called on the government of Nigeria "to begin a dialogue without delay in order to quickly find a peaceful outcome".

The Ghanaian head of state Nana Akufo-Addo, current president of ECOWAS, announced in a statement that he had met with his Nigerian counterpart, who he said "launched the process which will lead to reforms".

"Fake news"

After assuring that the Lekki attack did not cause any death, the governor of the State of Lagos spoke of the death in the hospital of a person "due to a trauma to the head", while saying he didn't know if it was a protester.

According to him, there were also 25 protesters injured.

The Nigerian army has denied being at the origin of this shooting, denouncing "fake news".

In a statement Wednesday morning, President Muhammadu Buhari confined himself to reiterating his commitment "to reform the police", calling again "for calm", without a word on the Lekki attack.

Many voices are raised in Nigeria to demand his resignation.

On social networks, the mobilization is "on a considerable scale to denounce the violence of the police repression with more than 4 million tweets in the last 24 hours to condemn the #LekkiMassacre", according to the pan-African network analysis organization Social Connected Africa.

Several gatherings have been organized to pay homage to the victims: in Pretoria in South Africa, in Accra in Ghana or in London, where a large Nigerian community lives.

Many international personalities have also lent their support to Nigerian youth, such as US presidential candidate Joe Biden, or superstars Rihanna and Beyoncé.

With AFP

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