Nigeria's Attorney General and Minister of Justice, Mr. Abubakar Malam, have revealed that hoodlums wearing military uniform may have shot #EndSARS protesters.
He insisted that it was too soon to tell if soldiers were involved.
It can be recalled that EndSARS protesters were shot at in Lekki, a highbrow area of Lagos by military men on last month, as protests rocked the nation over the banned Special Anti Robbery Squad (SARS), a unit of the Nigerian Police Force, accused of extrajudicial killings and unlawful arrests.
Amnesty international reports that security forces killed at least 12 people in Lagos on October 20. The army and police have denied involvement.
However, Reuters, a news outlet, quoted Mr Malami as telling reporters that the matter was being investigated and there was a need to establish whether the shooting took place, who was responsible and whether the people who were shooting were part of the military.
“You cannot rule out the possibility of perhaps hoodlums that set in to create a scene… could equally partake in the process,” Malami said at the news conference, which was also attended by government officials including the defence minister and finance minister.
He also said it was “pre-emptive” to conclude that there had even been a shooting.
Lagos state has ordered an investigation into the incident. Last week the military said the Lagos state government asked the army to intervene to restore order, but soldiers did not shoot civilians.