The Nigerian govt has a history of deploying army soldiers, using excessive force against its civilians.The Nigerian Army has a history of denying this.

1969, Asaba Massacre
Federal Nigerian Army troops entered Asaba in early October, began ransacking houses,killing civilians

1999, Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo ordered hundreds of troops to Odi, a town in the Niger Delta, after 12 police officers were killed. The soldiers flattened Odi and killed many civilians. Later, Obasanjo expressed regret. https://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/30/world/nigeria-army-said-to-massacre-hundreds-of-civilians.html

2015, December

Nigerian army soldiers kill hundreds of Shia Muslim members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) opening fire on the crowd, which included women and children. Rights groups condemned the attack. https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/12/22/nigeria-army-attack-shia-unjustified

Military deployment to "restore order" in Nigeria tends to provoke violence, heighten tensions and distrust of the government and/or exacerbate civil unrest, as numerous cases have shown.

18 February 1977
1,000 Nigerian armed soldiers stormed Fela Kuti's compound, Kalakuta Republic. His mother was thrown from a window and later died; The compound was burned to the ground. Most of its 60 occupants taken to the hospital along with bystanders beaten by soldiers.

Historians and Nigeria researchers:

I am interested in gathering historical accounts of excessive use of force on Nigerian civilians. I am doing the best I can to aggregate information. Please help. Share verified stories.

Recalling history is powerful.