The United States of America’s Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo has demanded the prosecution of those involved in the shooting of unarmed protesters at the Lekki toll plaza.
The statement was made by Mike Pompeo, the US Secretary of State in a tweet which was sent to the mainstream via his official Twitter handle.
The United States strongly condemns incidents of military forces firing on unarmed protestors in Lagos. Those involved should be held to account under the law. We extend our condolences to the victims of the violence and their families. #EndSARS
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) October 22, 2020
Secretary Mike Pompeo, in his statement, said the United States strongly condemns the incidents of military forces firing on unarmed protestors in Lagos.
He extends his condolences to the victims of the violence and their families and demands that those involved should be held to account under the law.
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What you should know
The #EndSARS peaceful protest on Tuesday, escalated to unprecedented heights in Lagos State, due to agitations by the #EndSARS protesters over unmet demands.
However, the Lagos State Government in a bid to arrest the situation and ward off the stemming tensions and civil unrest in the state-imposed a curfew starting from 4 pm but was later moved to 9 pm on Tuesday. Protesters were defiant and chose to stay on the street until their demands were met, thus breaching the curfew imposed by the government.
This development escalated, as Nairametrics reported on Tuesday that soldiers and other security operatives in a bid to disperse the #EndSARS protesters, fired live rounds, which hit and reportedly killed some of these protesters in the process.
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Optics
The gruesome actions of the security operatives, however, has led to reactions from world celebrities, Nigerians both at home and in the diaspora, as well as world leaders which include High Commissioner for Human Rights, Michelle Bachelet, the former US presidential aspirant, Hillary Clinton, and current US Democratic Party Presidential Candidate, Joe Biden.