REPORTER’S DIARY: How I dodged bullets, lived to see another day

It was the second time in the #EndBadGovernance protest I would think of death. The first time was on the second day of the protest when some protesters and I were ambushed by over 20 police officers at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.

Luckily for me, on this day, my press jacket saved me. I was almost kicked by a Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Commission (NSCDC) officer as I lay on the ground when a police officer saw my kit from a distance and shouted that I was a journalist.

I also felt a bullet pass close to my right ear.

I was just recovering from the trauma of those incidents when I had another close shave with death on Saturday, the third day of the protest. This time, my jacket and camera were not enough to save me when hooded State Security Service (SSS) officers directed their guns at us despite the jacket and the DSLR Canon Camera on my neck.

I had my life and the camera I had been using from the first day of the protest to worry about.

On Thursday, 1 August, Nigerians launched a protest tagged #EndBadGovernance, the ‘hunger protest’ and ‘hardship protest,’ in response to President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, leading to escalating living costs.

The demonstrators also voiced their frustration with the insensitivity of public officials and the overall lack of effective governance in the country.

My colleagues and I were on a morning shift on the third day of the demonstration at the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja.

I joined the others at about 10 a.m. The protesters were having a peaceful conversation, everyone sitting except for the speakers. I captured the moment with my camera as the demonstrators chanted songs expressing their dissatisfaction.

At 11:35 a.m., more police vans arrived. Then, the police officers asked the protesters to move into the stadium. The protesters refused to, and then police operatives began dispersing the protesters. Tear gas canisters exploded nearby, causing panic. I had mixed with the police officers. But the smoke burned my eyes, nose and face, even as I struggled to capture the bedlam.

While my colleagues fled, I maintained my composure.

At about 12:15 p.m., officers of the SSS wearing black hoods alighted from their vehicles. One of the officers loaded his gun and pointed it at the journalists.

Holding my camera and broken phone tight, I bolted from the scene. I ran until I became tired but couldn’t stop.

Some protesters dash into the bush, and some officers follow them.

I thought they had an order to kill us. But we all survived. I only sustained minor injuries on the knee and toes.

I was struck by the bravery and professionalism of the police and other security officers I saw in the areas I covered during the early part of the protest in Abuja. But from my later experience, I would be reluctant to use those words for them again.