Nigerian model uses Russian beauty pageant as a platform to protest police brutality
Protests in Nigeria
When Nigerian student and model Victoria Chiamaka Udeh was branding her country's red-stained flag while walking down the runway during a beauty pageant in Russia, she could only think about how young people lost their lives during the #EndSars protests in Nigeria last year.
The police brutality is now being investigated by a judicial panel, which has been set up by the authorities.
The Nigerian army had admitted to having in possession both live and blank bullets when they were deployed to protests at Lekki toll gate on October 20. The admission was seen as a confirmation of a key finding of a CNN investigation into the shooting incident.
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Also Read |Nigeria admits soldiers had live bullets at Lekki Toll Gate protest
Brig. Gen. Ahmed Taiwo in his testimony to the Lagos Judicial panel of inquiry into the incident, said, "The soldiers were given both live and blank bullets. In this particular case, we saw that these protests had been infiltrated by some hoodlums".
As per Udeh, she used the platform to "break beauty stereotypes". Speaking with CNN, she said, "At that time, I wasn't comfortable with my skin because I had a lot of acne all over my face. So, I wanted to prove to myself and people like me that I can break beauty stereotypes and that the flaws on my skin are part of what makes me perfect".
In a video from the event that struck social media, the model could be seen dressed in Nigeria's green and white colours, while she is holding the red-splashed flag.
She said the banner symbolised the blood of young protesters who lost their liveslast year.
While she did not win the competition, she was rated top in the "people's choice" category by the organisers.
Udeh said that wearing the colours made her "very emotional".
"I did that for a good cause. We need to be safe in our country and not losing lives every day. It was just a call to the Nigerian government to address the country's security issues," she said.