#EndSARS: Why I’m On The Run – DJ Switch

DJ Switch, a prominent member of the recent #EndSARS protests in Lagos, has revealed why she left Nigeria after the controversial shooting incident involving Nigerian soldiers at the Lekki toll gate.

DJ Switch, whose real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, had made headlines after she livestreamed the shooting incident on her Instagram account on October 20, 2020.

She spoke to the Canadian parliament in a video interview, in which she revealed that her exit from the country followed death threats she was getting from unnamed persons.

The DJ revealed that men in military uniform uniforms had trailed her a hospital where she was receiving treatment for injuries that she sustained from the shooting incident.

She narrated, “On October 20, 2020, we had spirited Nigerians there united with one goal against police brutality against bad governance.

“What started out as a protest against police brutality with the unit called SARS unfortunately degenerated into something, I still find hard to reconcile within my heart.

“We got information that the government wants to see me and six other people and I remember saying to them that we have no leader and if the government wanted to speak with us, he should kindly come to the toll gate and address Nigerians because we have been out for eleven days.”

She also revealed how soldiers and policemen allegedly arrived at the Lekki toll gate at different times and shot at peaceful protesters.

“I remembered the military came in first, they stopped shooting at some point and I walked up to one of them and I asked why he was shooting at us and he said he had express order from above, and 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. I remember seeing seven people that have been shot down and we were telling people on my live Instagram to help us call an ambulance.”

On alleged threats to her life, DJ Switch said: “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.

“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.”

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Meanwhile, the International Criminal Court is said to have begun preliminary examination of petitions it received regarding soldiers’ alleged invasion of the Lekki protest ground and the shooting of unarmed EndSARS protesters.

BBC’s West Africa correspondent, Chi Chi Izundu, made the revelation in a tweet last week.

Izundu had said, “The International Criminal Court has confirmed to BBC Africa that it has started a preliminary examination into the #EndSARS events in Nigeria. The Office of the ICC Prosecutor said it had received information on alleged crimes and the examination would ‘assess whether the legal criteria for opening an investigation under the Rome Statute… are met.”