Managing Director of Nigerian firm Lekki Concession Company, Abayomi Omamuwasan, has said the Closed-Circuit Television camera of the company stopped recording around 8 o’clock on the night unarmed peaceful #EndSARS protesters were shot at by men who wore the uniform of the Nigerian Army.
“I can confirm categorically that we never ever tampered with that surveillance camera,” said Omamuwasan when he appeared before the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry on Tuesday.
“As we’ll probably see in the footage that’s why we can still get the footage, it remained there until about 8 o’clock when it was tampered with and we couldn’t get any network anymore, and it stopped recording” he added.
He added that the company while installing the surveillance cameras did not activate its audio capacity as it was deployed solely for the control and management of traffic at the toll plaza.
“I am afraid to say ours (the surveillance cameras), we did not activate the audio functionality. We deployed the surveillance cameras for the control and management of traffic and we believe just seeing the images are sufficient for us and that’s why we didn’t bother to activate the cameras’ audio,” he said.
Explaining the reason for the power outage on the evening of the shooting of protesters, he insisted that the company complied with the curfew and asked staff to leave in adherence with the directive of the state government.
He added that the company withdrew its staff from the toll gate following the takeover of the toll gate by the protesters.
The company had earlier produced footage from the Closed-Circuit Television and submitted the footage to the Panel of Inquiry alongside other documents.
Peaceful and unarmed #EndSARS protesters were attacked and shot at by the Nigerian Army.
According to Amnesty International, 10 people were killed at the toll gate and scores injured, a claim the Army denies.
Omamuwasan alongside a counsel for the company, Rotimi Seriki, submitted a hard drive to the panel, saying it contained what happened at the toll gate.
By Abel Ejikeme