#EndSARS: Nigeria practices dictatorship with democratic face - DJ Switch

Ever since Obianuju Catherine Udeh popularly known as DJ Switch recorded the shooting at the Lekki Toll Gate by the Nigerian army on October 20, 2020, she has been in the eye of the storm.

In a recent interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson over the shootings at the Lekki Toll Gate, DJ Switch described the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari as a dictatorship with a democratic face.

She said, “I do not hold what the president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria says to heart. Nigeria is a dictatorship with a democratic face. I think that is primarily to please the international community. It is our right to protest for the change that we demand. This government has used force from the beginning.

“They started with infiltrating a peaceful protest with things but that did not work. Then they moved to bring the military in. So, the same government that says that it has banned SARS for close to four years are saying that it wants to have a dialogue. The president has not even addressed the incident that happened at the Toll Gate so I do not take his words to heart. They must show accountability.”

Switch seized the opportunity to challenge the Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, to speak the truth about what happened at the Lekki Toll Gate.

“With no due respect, I actually challenge the governor of Lagos State to just say the truth. They know the truth and they have confliction stories with each other. Nigerians have died and this is not a time to play games. Families are looking for their loved ones. To be honest with you in regards to me, I do not know how to feel because on one hand, I am grateful that I am alive today but on the other hand I don’t know if to say I am lucky because it seems that the others were not lucky. The governor owes a responsibility to the citizen of Lagos State to say the truth,” the disc jockey said.

While recalling the incident, Udeh, described it as the worst experience of her life. “What I experienced that day was the worst experience of my life. The Nigerian army that is supposed to protect us came with no warning; none. There was no representative to speak to us. We heard gunshots from behind the Toll Gate because we were at the other side of the Toll Gate. We heard the gunshots and people were running so what we did was to sit down, stay still and wave our flags.

“We believed that if we waved our flags, they would know that we were not there to cause any harm but to express our rights. There was no warning, they just started shooting and people were just dropping. I cannot explain that it was just a chaotic scene that most times, I find it difficult to close my eyes without seeing those things,” she said.

DJ Switch told Anderson that after the army had left, the police surfaced. “After they left, the Nigeria Police came, SARS to be precise. From the uniforms we could see especially a man that wore white, I don’t know who he was but he had a pistol. He was just shooting at us and we had to run for our lives. That is the short story,” she said.