‘The soldiers said they acted on orders from above’ — DJ Switch speaks to Canadian parliament on Lekki shooting

DJ Switch, a Nigerian female disc jockey, says soldiers who shot at unarmed #EndSARS protesters at Lekki toll gate in Lagos told her they were acting on “orders from above.”

The entertainer spoke during a teleconference with the sub-committee on International Human Rights of the Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and International Development of the Canadian parliament.

The nearly three hours session, which held on Friday, was to address the dust surrounding the shooting of peaceful protesters at Lekki toll gate on October 20.

During the meeting, the video of which was obtained by TheCable Lifestyle, Switch recalled approaching one of the men in military uniform over why they were shooting at them.

“I remembered the military came in first, they stopped shooting at some point and I walked up to one of them and asked why he was shooting at us and he said he had express order from above,” she said.

“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.”

She also dismissed claims by the Nigerian army that the soldiers only fired blank bullets, saying that they shot at the protesters after creating a three-formation line.

The gifted DJ revealed that she left Nigeria amid death threats over her involvement in the campaign aimed at ending police brutality, particularly during the Lagos shooting.

“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,” she said.

“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.”

#LekkiShooting #EndSARS pic.twitter.com/mKjZqSphbh

— TheCable Lifestyle (@thecablestyle) November 9, 2020

Some of the witnesses during the meeting include Osai Ojigho, country director of Amnesty International Nigeria; Tim Okafor, national coordinator of Biafrans in Canada Community Association; and Stella Kemdirim, member of Biafrans in Canada Community Association.

The development comes amid reports that the DJ, whose real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, had sought asylum in Canada.

There have been conflicting reports on the actual casualties after the shooting which has continued to attract global condemnation.

DJ Switch had earlier said at least 15 persons were shot dead on the night while several others sustained injuries of varying degrees.