SECURITY operatives consisting of the police, army and State Security Service (SSS) reportedly shot directly at journalists covering the #EndBadGovernace protest at the MKO, Abiola stadium in Abuja on Saturday, August 3.
The incident happened shortly after the operatives had successfully chased away the few protesters who gathered at the venue on the third day of the nationwide protest.
A video journalist with The ICIR, Johnson Fatunbi who was at the venue of the shooting confirmed the incident.
According to him, the security operatives who were in masks came in several unmarked vehicles and started shooting to scare people away from the protest grounds.
Another journalist with The ICIR, Mustapha Usman narrated that the police personnel blocked the road in front of the stadium.
“They are shooting at us, they are stationed everywhere,” Usman said in a distress message sent to The ICIR from the venue.
According to him, a police officer came shouting: “’Where are they? Where are they? Don’t capture me on your camera,’ as he threatened protesters.”
Usman added that another policeman was seen harassing journalists and a protester.
“He insisted that journalists and the lone protester moved to the stadium. He shot a tear gas at very close range,” Usman stated.
How it all started
According to a fact checker with The FactCheckHub, Nurudeen Akewusola, who was also at the venue the whole crisis started when some police officers arrived in their numbers and gave protesters a two-minute ultimatum to move their protest inside MKO Abiola stadium.
However, the protesters resisted and insisted on continuing their protest at the entrance.
He added that led to the Police officers shooting sporadically in the air, and hauling teargas at protesters for disobeying their order.
A journalist with the Premium Times Abdulkareem Majeed also had his car hit by several shots from the security operatives during the stampede at MKO Abiola stadium.
The ICIR had earlier reported that operatives of the Police, and army chased away protesters from the MKO stadium, Abuja.
The Police reportedly launched several teargas in the direction of the protesters who were demonstrating against the high rate of poverty and hunger in Abuja on Saturday, August 3.
“We heard when one of the officers said protesters were up to 50 and shortly after, they came with scores of policemen,” a source said.
The protesters and journalists ran in different directions during the incident.
It was also gathered that the personnel State Security Service (SSS) came later to disperse the remaining journalists and protesters.
The ICIR reported on Friday, August 2 that the #EndBadGovernance protest witnessed violence with police throwing teargas canisters at demonstrators in the heart of the nation’s capital.
The protesters had earlier assembled Friday morning to continue with the protest scheduled for 10 days in the Berger area of Abuja.
Not long after they assembled, security operatives took over strategic positions at the stadium and started chasing them to the MKO stadium.
The #EndBadGovernance protest is aimed at addressing the lingering hunger crisis experienced since President Bola Tinubu assumed office in May 2023, according to the organisers.
A reporter with the ICIR
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