Teen Shot Dead In Secessionist Rally In Lagos
The teenager was allegedly shot by Police in Lagos, during a separatist agitation rally
A 14-year-old fruit-seller was hit by a bullet allegedly fired by a police officer in a crackdown on secessionist protesters in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria, an eyewitness said.
According to eyewitnesses, the teen named Jumoke was hit by a bullet fired by the police when they used force to disperse pro-Yoruba protesters in Ojota, Lagos on Saturday, July 3, 2021.
Gunshots were fired by police officers present at the Gani Fawehinmi Park in Ojota, Lagos as the Yoruba nation rally begins, Punch reported.
This was after Hakeem Odumosu, Lagos State Commissioner of Police, addressed journalists at the venue saying no rally was allowed in Lagos.
However, some Yoruba nation agitators dared the security operatives by spreading banners and flyers to announce their arrival and presence.
A few minutes later, shots were fired and hot water from an armoured tank was sprayed to disperse them.
The Lagos State Police Command had in separate statements on Thursday and Friday warned the agitators to shelve the rally, citing intelligence reports that the protest would be infiltrated by hoodlums.
But the organisers of the rally comprising Sunday Igboho-led group and the umbrella body of Yoruba self-determination groups, Ilana Omo Oodua, led by a renowned historian and former senator, Emeritus Professor Banji Akintoye, insisted that it would hold as scheduled.
Eyewitnesses said a bullet fired by police to disperse protesters hit Jumoke, who owns a lemonade shop near the venue.
The Lagos State Police, however, refuted claims that its operatives killed the deceased.
When HumAngle contacted Muyiwa Adejobi, police spokesperson in the state, he insisted that the “report is false.”
“We have recovered the corpse and examined it; we have not found any bullet wound. What we found was an injury sustained from a sharp object,” Adejobi said.
“But we are still investigating and looking into the matter.”
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