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Nigerian Army arrests soldier who discouraged massacre of protesters

In a viral video, the lance corporal asks fellow soldiers to disregard any directive to open live rounds on unarmed protesters.

• October 21, 2020
Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai
Photo of Lt General Tukur Yusuf Buratai (Photo Credit: @HQNigerianArmy) Twitter

A Nigerian soldier has been taken into custody after speaking up against use of deadly force to quell ongoing protests against police brutality.

Harrison Friday, a lance corporal, circulated a video clip on social media to urge colleagues to disregard any directive to open fire on protesters because it would be too costly for the country. 

After initially dismissing the video as coming from a ‘fake soldier’, the Army announced on Tuesday night that the man in the video was a corporal and said he had been taken into custody.

Mr. Friday was accused of cybercrime for releasing the video, and it was not immediately clear where he was being held.

The Army said credited the arrest to early successes of its so-called operation crocodile smile, which was launched last weekend to purportedly counter Anonymous hacker collective and others.

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