Barbadian singer, Rihanna Fenty, has lent her voice to the ongoing #EndSARS protests in Nigeria.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Rihanna said she couldn’t bear to see the torture and brutality that has continued to occur not only in Nigeria but also across the world.
“I can’t bear to see this torture and brutalization that is continuing to affect nations across our planet. It is 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. My heart is broken for Nigeria. It is unbearable to watch,” she wrote.
The singer, however, saluted Nigerians for their courage despite the tough times.
“I’m so proud of your strength and for not letting up on the fight for what is right. #EndSARS,” she added.
Her comments come hours after soldiers shot at #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate Area of Lagos State. The incident happened at about 7:00 pm.
According to one of the protesters who was still at the scene of the incident at about 10:30 pm, they were protesting peacefully when the armed security operatives came and opened fire at them.
“We were protesting peacefully after comedian, AY addressed us. There was nothing, we were still protesting peacefully. Then immediately, the street lights went off,” he told Channels TV on the News @ 10.
“People started shooting at us. We were able to recognise them, they were putting on uniform, they were military men, soldiers.
“We were lying down, waving our flags, telling them we are protesting peacefully, yet they were shooting directly at us.
“It wasn’t to drive us away, it was to kills us”.
So far, several persons are feared dead, while many others sustained gunshot wounds.
Some videos from eyewitnesses at the scene of the incident showed some persons bleeding seriously, while others tried to extract the bullets.
Others were seen administering CPR to some injured persons, to resuscitate them.
The incident comes hours after the Lagos State Government declared a 24-hour curfew as part of efforts to stop the violence which had broken out in some parts of the state by criminal elements who have been hijacking the protests.
Although the curfew was to commence at 4:00 pm, many were still seen protesting across the state.
At the Lekki Toll Gate which has been one of the major converging points, peaceful and unarmed protesters were still seen gathered in large numbers hours after the curfew was to have commenced.
The situation, however, took a turn for the worse around 7:00 pm when the security operatives stormed the area and started shooting sporadically.
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