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JUST IN: Experts confirm bullets expended at Lekki EndSARS protest came from Nigerian Army

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Expert’s on Friday confirmed that bullets fired at peaceful protesters at the Lekki tollgate during the EndSARS protests came from guns fired by personnel of the Nigerian Army.

A forensic expert based in the United Kingdom, Joseph Funso, presented proof that Nigerian soldiers used live bullets to shoot at protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020, during the #EndSARS protest.

Funso who testified at the Lagos State Judicial Panel on Restitution of Victims of SARS-Related Abuses and Other Matters on Friday, debunked claims by the Army that the bullets used to disperse the protesters were rubber bullets.

The forensic investigator who is the Managing Director, Sentinel Forensics Limited, appeared before the Lagos panel with the report of a forensic investigation his company conducted on the retrieved bullets 11 months after the incident which saw many Nigerian youths mowed down by the soldiers who were acting on yet to be ascertained orders.

“We were to examine CCTV footage and give analysis on video footage to the panel, give an expert opinion on findings made at the scene of the protest on October 20, 2020, and give a full report on findings,” Funsho said while testifying before the panel.

“We received from the tribunal items four evidence, which include: one Seagate external hard drive designated to contain CCTV footage of the 20th of October 2020, at the Lekki Tollgate plaza and one SMI USB drive designated to contain CCTV footage of the incident presented by the Nigerian Army.

“We also received two spent shell casings of bullets recovered at the scene, four ammunitions tendered as exhibits by the Nigerian Army, one blank expended ammunition, one blank unexpended ammunition, one live expended ammunition and one live unexpended ammunition.

“We also reviewed the items of evidence that were presented to us, and in line with our second and fifth mandates, under our terms of engagement, produced a comprehensive forensic report on our scene investigation and evidence review in hard copy and electronic presentation.

READ ALSO: Lagos panel admits autopsy reports of 99 persons killed during #ENDSARS protests

“Thorough examination of the surrounding areas and edifice of admiralty plaza showed extensive signs of vandalism and arson.”

The #EndSARS protest was largely against the brutality of the defunct Special Anti-Robbery Sqaud (SARS), a unit of the Nigeria Police Force, however, it turned bloody when soldiers were drafted in to disperse the youths after the lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu declared a curfew.

The protests, which lasted two weeks, were brought to an abrupt end on the night of October 20, when the soldier suddenly appeared and opened fire on the protesters, killing and maiming many of them in the process.

Though the military authorities have continued to insist that they did not kill the protesters, evidences that have been churning up have continued to reveal their complicity.

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