- Police, DSS Shot At Journalists, Protesters
By Safiu Kehinde and Halimah Olamide
A day after an order to suspend the nationwide protests against hunger and alleged bad governance, protesters have shunned the order occupying various protests grounds in various parts of the country.
In Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, anti-government protesters trooped out again in places like Berger, Moshood Abiola Stadium continuing where they stopped on Friday which was the second day of the nationwide protests.
However, hours after the protesters had massed at the Moshood Abiola Stadium, security men came to disperse them as live bullets were allegedly fired to disperse protesters.
A police woman was said to have said that unless the protesters were dealt with, there will be no peace.
Journalists were not spared as the security men shot sporadically at the crowd which comprised journalists and protesters.
A journalist with Premium Times, showed how bullets hit his car in the process.
Abdulkareem Mojeed wrote after the incident, “It’s obvious that the @PoliceNG
& masked @OfficialDSSNG officials deployed to monitor the Abuja protests were asked to kill both journalists & the peaceful demonstrators. How can you be shooting live ammunitions at US? How??? Rattled my car with bullets. May Allah judge you all.”
In some other spots in Abuja, protesters invited religious leaders to preach and speak to the current alleged leadership failure in the country.
In Lagos, the ever busy Lagos Island has become a shadow of its former self as the #EndBadGovernance Protest restricted residents indoor amid fear.
The usual weekend aura in areas such CMS, Obalende, and Marina, were all time low with motorists decrying low patronage.
Our correspondent observed that the low human and vehicular activities on the roads of the Island may have been caused by earlier threats carried out by some hoodlums on the eve of August 1 against protesters.
The hoodlums had moved from one street to another daring anyone to protest on the Island.
On Saturday, residents were restricted on account of fear of potential violence.
Protesters continued to assemble at the Gani Fawehinmi Freedom Park Ojota on Saturday while some moved to Maryland area.
Policemen had reduced the space available to the protesters as they stationed their patrol vans and asked protesters not to go beyond the space allowed to avert violence.
A video of one of the protests in Abuja shared by @UncleShinelz showed the protesters chanting anti-government songs.
Ebun-Olu Adegboruwa, lawyer and human rights activists, who had acted as solicitor to the organisers, had called for an end to the protests late Friday.
He had said that the protests had been hijacked by hoodlums saying the attendant violence was not part of the protests as planned.
“I appeal to the protesters to withdraw themselves from their various protest grounds and to suspend the protests immediately and indefinitely, in order to give room for meaningful dialogue and engagement with the government.
“Given that the protests were said to have been hijacked by sponsored agents, it is necessary to avoid further losses and casualties.
“The organizers of the protests and their representatives should embrace dialogue with the government,” Adegboruwa had said.