#ENDSARS: How Nigerian Soldiers Shattered My Leg With Bullet, Killed Man Trying To Save Me During Lekki Shooting — Victim

Theophilus Ivwrogbo, a young Nigerian man, has narrated his experience in the hands of Nigerian soldiers during the 2020 nationwide #EndSARS protests. 

In a video shared by Punch, the victim stated that he was at work on the 20th of October, 2020 when he got a signal to return to the company. 

According to him, the notice came late in the afternoon, and in a bid to return to his house in Epe from Apapa, he encountered soldiers at the Lekki toll gate where he was shot in the leg. 

Ivwrogbo said he was only passing through the scene of the incident when he became a victim, adding that someone who tried to rescue him was shot dead immediately by the soldiers. 

He called on the government and Nigerians to come to his aid and that of others like him. 

He said: “My name is Theophilus Ivwrogbo, I am from Delta state, married with two children. I work with a China Civil Engineering Company. On that fateful day, on the 20th of October, 2020, we were at work. Between 12 pm and 2 pm, we got a message that a curfew had been imposed by the Lagos State government, that everyone should go home. I was already on Marina bridge because I was transporting some refuse from Apapa to Ikeja, our dumpsite. Some hoodlums now blocked the truck, used me to block the road where they were protesting. As I was there, my colleague, a fellow driver came on a motorcycle and told me that I had to go back to the yard, that the company had closed. I asked him what happened and he said there was a curfew. 

“I looked for a means to move my truck away from there and went back to the yard. By the time I got to the yard, it was already around 3 pm and I was going to Epe. I took my bag and belongings because we sleep in the truck. 

“As I was going, there was no vehicle at all (on the roads). From one bus stop to another, there were some sets of persons protesting. Meanwhile, they had been protesting before that time while we worked and we never joined them to protest. I was going to Epe from Apapa and I had to go through Lekki toll gate. I took a bike there, got down from the bike at the Lekki toll gate, walked through the crowd, crossed the toll gate to the other side of the road so I could board a vehicle going to Epe. 

“I noticed that soldiers were coming down from Hilux (vans) and I was wondering what they were doing there so I was like 'let me hurriedly cross and get past the soldiers'. 

“The next thing, the soldiers shot in the air, I got scared that are they trying to shoot people here. I said let me quickly pass through the side of the wall and get out of here, the next thing was rampaging gunfire, there was chaos everywhere, people started running. I couldn't proceed, I had to turn (back), as I tried to run away, the bullet hit me in the leg, I fell. I later stood up and saw that my leg was broken. I tried to move with one leg and fell again. 

“I noticed that someone was trying to rescue me, holding my shirt from behind, dragging me on the floor, he was trying to escape with me. As he was trying to escape with me, the guy fell too. As he fell, I raised my head, it was his blood that filled up my body, he too was shot but he was shot dead. 

“I don't know the spirit that came over me immediately, I got up on my feet and started hopping on one leg, crossed the road to the other side, and sat down. I was bleeding seriously. The bullet entered my leg, broke the bone. I was not seeing well before I passed out. 

“I woke up very late around 2 am at Reddington Hospital, how I got there, I don't know. I woke up outside the hospital with a lot of crowds, with a lot of other injured people. I noticed that the broken leg was already covered with cartons and I was left like that. I started shouting because of the pain.

“One of the nurses came and told me they couldn't treat me because the ward was full. I told her I was in so much pain. She said she'd do me a favour, that she'd give me an injection that would reduce my pain. 

“When she was giving me the injection, she was hiding to do it. I slept off and woke up again around 6 am. I was still there at Reddington Hospital before I saw some guys about four fresh, fine men. They started pointing at people. 

“They pointed at me and about six other people that they should carry us. I was even scared. They took us into their car and drove us to another hospital at VGC and handed us over to the doctor there.

“The guys asked for the hospital bills and the hospital said as long as it was #EndSARS victim, they wouldn't collect any money but they had to first conduct an X-ray which they did. We were about four in number that they took to do the X-ray. 

“One was shot in the chest, the bullet was close to his heart. The other one was shot in the lap. By the time they checked, the bullet was close to his penis. For me, they saw that there was no bullet. 

“The hospital said for the one close to the chest and the one that the bullet was close to the penis, they couldn't treat them. They said they had to transfer them to another place. 

“For me and the other guy, we were admitted and spent about five days there. I told the nurse to tell me how much it would cost. She said if I had N2.5 million, I couldn't do the surgery. 

"On the sixth day, they discharged me with the iron on my leg, they said I should go but after every two weeks, I should come for a check-up. They said after six weeks, they would remove the iron. Then I would go for another round of operation for the bone. 

“After everything, family and friends supported me with money for me to survive. 

“After the six weeks, the hospital removed the iron so I had to look for an alternative, and I had to look for a traditionalist to help me set the bone. That one came, collected N220, 000 and started working on the leg but till now, I still can't walk with the leg. Even today, they have to break down the leg to rearrange it.

"My major pain is the person that died in the process of trying to save me, I don't even know what he looked like, I sleep and see a faceless ghost.

“The company I work for neglected me from that time till now. No sign of concern, because it's a Chinese company and I was engaged as a casual worker–a driver. I have been working for them since 2019.

“When I called them, they said I went for a protest, I told them they asked us to go home. If they had accommodation, we wouldn't have had to go home, we'd have stayed back. 

“They didn't check on me, they didn't sack me either. I have worked as an electrician in Abuja, I have worked as a carpenter with US, Abuja. 

“All these jobs require good legs. Today, I can't do any of these jobs with a broken leg. I plead with the federal government, Nigerians to look into the matter. 

”Not just me, there are several others out there."