ABUJA, Oct. 21 (Xinhua) -- One among 28 injured people has been confirmed dead following a massive shooting at a protest ground in the southwestern state of Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub where citizens were protesting against brutality by the police.

Governor of the Lagos state Babajide Sanwo-Olu in a statewide broadcast on Wednesday said a total of 28 protesters were hit by bullets during the gun attack on Tuesday evening at the Lekki Toll Gate complex where citizens had been demonstrating peacefully for two weeks. Three of them were discharged early Wednesday.

Shortly after the broadcast calling for calm across Lagos, where public buildings, a hospital, television station and banks were set ablaze, Sanwo-Olu tweeted that one of the injured persons had died at a private hospital.

Witnesses said men in military uniforms shot at demonstrators who defied a curfew order by the Lagos government.

The Lagos governor said the massive shooting was carried out by "forces beyond our direct control" after he visited hospitals to see the victims.

Tensions rose in Abuja, the Nigerian capital, and Lagos on Tuesday when suspected hoodlums reportedly took control of the peaceful protests by citizens calling for extensive reform of the police. Violence has been reported in some other cities across the country.

Nigerian police chief Mohammed Adamu on Tuesday directed the deployment of riot policemen to all parts of the country, to safeguard lives and property, as well as critical infrastructure. Enditem

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