DJ Switch who quietly left Nigeria, following death threats, has surfaced in Canada, speaking with parliamentarians about the event of 20 October in Lagos.
According to reports, DJ Switch, whose real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, told a parliamentary committee that the soldiers who shot at #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate, said they were acting on orders from above. She relived the shooting with members of the Sub-committee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development.
The entertainer streamed the shooting live and at a stage the battery of her phone ran down. She said that the military opened fire on the protesters after creating a three-formation line, Sahara Reporters said. She said soldiers shot at them, contrary to the claims of the military that blank bullets were used and told the Canadian parliament that she counted no fewer than seven persons shot. That figure is fewer than the 15 she claimed the army killed and took the bodies away.
“On October 20, 2020, we had spirited Nigerians there united with one goal against police brutality against bad governance. What started out as a protest against police brutality with the unit called SARS unfortunately degenerated into something I still find hard to reconcile within my heart. We got information that the government wants to see me and six other people and I remember saying to them that we have no leader and if the government wanted to speak with us, he should kindly come to the toll gate and address Nigerians because we have been out for eleven days.”
She added that the first gunshot was heard from behind, adding that it was chaotic as people were running in different directions so as not to be hit by bullet until it was announced that protesters should lie on the floor.
“As we didn’t know where the gunshots were coming from and what they are about and then the lights went off. I remembered the military came in first, they stopped shooting at some point and I walked up to one of them and I asked why he was shooting at us and he said he had express order from above, and I was coming too close to him and if I come too close, it would be considered an attack on him and he would have to shoot. It didn’t take another ten minutes, the shooting started again. I remember seeing seven people that have been shot down and we were telling people on my live Instagram to help us call an ambulance.”
She also added that after the military were ordered to stop shooting by a senior military officer, the police were drafted to the toll gate and continued shooting at protesters, who were still at the protest ground.
She revealed that she has been in hiding following threats to her live by unknown people. She said she initially thought it was an empty threat until she received a call that the military were trying to arrest her.
“I have been on the move because they have been after my life. The first threat came in, I thought it was a joke, I sincerely thought it was a joke. Just as I was leaving, I got a phone call that I should leave the vicinity because there are military men at the hospital. I had to abandon my home, I moved from people’s home, and then just to get out of Nigeria. I am still travelling, and I am not done with my trip,” DJ Switch said.
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