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A recent revelation by the Nigerian Army has contradicted the initial claim by the Nigeria Police Force that there was no use of live ammunition on protesters during the nationwide protest in the country.
Naija News reports that the protest against the hunger crisis and the poor state of the nation’s economy under the incumbent administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu initially commenced on a peaceful basis, but subsequently escalated into violent confrontations across various regions of the nation.
The initial instance of violence was reported in Suleja, Niger State, where it is alleged that security forces, in an attempt to regain control, shot at least six demonstrators.
Subsequently, in Kubwa, Abuja, a young individual was allegedly killed by a law enforcement officer.
Further instances of such tragic incidents were documented in Kaduna, Kano, Jigawa, Borno, and Katsina, among other locales.
Despite the proliferation of video evidence showcasing these acts of unlawful violence, the police have consistently denied any involvement.
Amnesty International has since condemned the employment of lethal force against the protesters.
“Our findings, so far, show that security personnel at the locations where lives were lost deliberately used tactics designed to kill while dealing with gatherings of people protesting hunger and deep poverty,” Amnesty International said in a statement earlier.
Also reacting, the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Joe Ajaero, issued a stern warning to the Police and other security agencies, urging them to cease what he termed the “massacre” of demonstrators.
Ajaero also expressed concerns regarding the professionalism of the police leadership and the officers under the command of the Inspector General of the Police, IGP Kayode Egbetokun.
He emphasized that police resources should be redirected towards combating the bandits causing chaos in the nation, rather than targeting innocent citizens who are merely asserting their rights.
In response, Muyiwa Adejobi, the spokesperson for the Nigeria Police Force, acknowledged that while there were reports of fatalities during the protests, he asserted that none were attributable to police actions.
In a piece titled: ‘The Hunger March As Universal Mandate’, Nobel Laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, wrote, “Live bullets as state response to civic protest – that becomes the core issue. Even tear gas remains questionable in most circumstances, certainly an abuse in situations of clearly peaceful protest. Hunger marches constitute a universal S.O.S, not peculiar to the Nigerian nation. They belong indeed in a class of their own, never mind the collateral claims emblazoned on posters.”
At a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, Egbetokun once again denied the use of live bullets against protesters.
“The police and the military, indeed no other security agency involved in the management of this protest has deployed excessive use of force. Instead, what we had were attacks on security agents during the protest. From our record, there were no shooting incidents by the police. The police or military did not use any live ammunition in the management of these protests. Instead, we have had cases where our officers were injured and are in critical condition as we speak.
“I will dismiss that as fake news and very wrong allegations. We didn’t use excessive force at all. We didn’t even deploy the whole of our strength in this protest even when it turned violent. We have water cannons we did not deploy, we have rubber bullets, we didn’t use. All that we have used in the management of this protest is teargas and nothing more,” the police boss had said.
However, the Nigerian Army has acknowledged that one of its personnel had killed a teenager in Zaria, Kaduna State, during the protest.
“On 6 August 2024, troops of the Nigerian Army received a distress call that some hoodlums gathered in Samaru in large numbers, burning tyres on the road and pelting stones at security personnel. The troops immediately mobilised and arrived at the scene to disperse the mob and enforce the curfew imposed by the State Government.
“On arrival at the scene, the hoodlums brazenly attempted to attack the troops prompting a soldier to fire a warning shot to scare the hoodlums away, which unfortunately led to the death of a 16-year-old boy Ismail Mohammed. The soldier involved has since been arrested and undergoing interrogation as at the time of this report,” Army spokesman, Onyema Nwachukwu, said in a statement.
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