Soldiers shooting into a crowd, beating unarmed men and women and dragging them away. These are not scenes from a war zone, but from a religious march and protest in Nigeria’s capital in late October. They show a military unit killing and injuring dozens of members of a religious organization called the Islamic Movement in Nigeria. The military says it acted in self-defense. But we reviewed hundreds of videos collected from witnesses and social media. We interviewed survivors, visited the scene and found that the military story just doesn’t hold up. Here’s how an elite Nigerian battalion turned a religious procession into a massacre and why they got away with it. First, what is the Islamic Movement in Nigeria? It’s a sect of mainly Shiite Muslims who feel discriminated against by the government and don’t recognize the Nigerian Constitution. They’re a tiny minority. The country is mostly Christian and Sunni Muslim. But the government fears that their political activism, while mostly peaceful, could stoke unrest. In October, they gathered in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja, for an annual religious procession, the Arbaeen pilgrimage. It’s a symbolic ceremony that’s observed by Shia Muslims around the world. And in Nigeria, it’s a community event where many women and children participate. But they’re also demanding the release of their leader, Sheikh Ibrahim Zakzaky. He’s been detained for three years since a government crackdown on the group, despite a court order to release him. It’s Monday, Oct. 29. The group set out from east of the capital and had already marched for a day and a half without incident, until it reached a military checkpoint on the outskirts of Abuja. It’s a security measure to prevent attacks by the militant group Boko Haram. The marchers have no association with Boko Haram. The military says the marchers stopped traffic and then attacked the checkpoint. But videos show us that traffic is flowing freely along the highway until the military seals it off with a barricade. In this previously unseen footage, the procession’s organizers, here in bright safety vests, approached the checkpoint. Abdullahi Musa was one of them. Let’s watch this scene again. As that man is being shot, other soldiers rush and fire more rounds, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Shortly after, more soldiers arrive and the shooting continues. The military said its soldiers were attacked with firearms and rocks. We see some protesters throw rocks in response to the shooting. But there is no credible evidence that troops were fired upon. Notice, these soldiers do not take cover from gunfire. For most of the incident, they stand in the open, continue to fire into the procession indiscriminately and at short range, and then chase the marchers, shooting at them even as they retreat. In the crowd, people take cover as bullets fly past. Some are carried away with horrific injuries. We’ll take a moment to examine some of these injuries because they indicate a high caliber weapon was used. A warning: These pictures are quite gruesome and we’ve blurred parts of them. Some victims had their limbs completely blown off. These are battlefield wounds and they’re caused by battlefield weapons. We see one right here. Atop this vehicle is a heavy machine gun. It fires .50-caliber rounds, as seen in this archival footage. It’s a weapon normally used in war zones, not to police civilians. Later, we see the dead and injured lying on the road, but no ambulances appear to have arrived at the scene. A few unarmed marchers return and stand in defiance. A protester helps one of the injured to raise his fist. Soldiers approach them from a truck and begin brutally beating them. They’re flung into the back of the vehicle, lashed some more and driven away. The army, beyond any doubt, is not responding to a deadly threat here. The military said three people were killed that day. But we counted at least two dozen bodies in verified photos and videos. Witnesses told us that 39 people were killed. In hospitals, we saw more than 40 young survivors of that weekend’s violence. A bullet shattered this 16-year-old girl’s leg, an injury that her family said is likely to restrict her movement for the rest of her life. Others were shot in the stomach and in the back as they fled. Some were shot in the head. What military unit was responsible for this? Let’s take a second look at this gun truck. It belongs to the Guards Brigade, an elite unit tasked with protecting Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari and the capital, Abuja. Here we see it arriving, moving toward the marchers and chasing after the crowd as it retreats. And more soldiers from the Presidential Guard arrive after the attack. They’re wearing its insignia. This logo on the back of the truck tells us they’re the 7th Battalion. It’s one of five units within the guard whose commander reports directly to the head of Nigeria’s armed forces and also coordinates with the president’s top staff. It’s a short chain of command to the head of state. What happened in Abuja is not an isolated incident. In 2015, the army shot and killed nearly 350 members of the same group and dumped their bodies in a mass grave. A judicial panel recommended that soldiers be disciplined. But nothing happened. Two days before this latest shooting, the military killed more people at another march held over the weekend pilgrimage. Again in a brutal fashion. In a phone interview with The Times, military spokesman John Agim didn’t deny the killings. He insisted the marchers intended to occupy the capital, attacked the checkpoint and had to be stopped. Under international law, guns may be used only to protect lives, not to break up protests. Our analysis shows this threshold was not met. But with no accountability, the message is clear: The president’s men are free to act as they please.