No live ammunition used on Protesters- IGP
Earlier on Tuesday, Inspector General of Police Kayode Egbetokun stated that the police, military, and other agencies participating in the administration of the #EndBadGovernance protest did not use live ammunition during the demonstrations.
Egbetokun made the announcement at a meeting of security agency leaders in Abuja.
He stated, “The police, military, and no other security agency involved in the management of this protest did not use excessive force.” Instead, we saw attacks on security agents during the protest. According to our records, there were no gunshot events by police.
“No live ammunition was used by the police or military to manage these protests. Instead, we’ve had incidents where our cops were hurt and are currently in serious condition.
A 16-year-old #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protester was shot dead by a Nigerian Army soldier on Tuesday in Zaria, Kaduna State’s Samaru community.
The deseased was recognized as Ismail Mohammed.
Meanwhile, Major General Onyeama Nwachukwu, Director of Army Public Relations, acknowledged the incident in a statement issued on Tuesday headed “Unfortunate death of a protester by a soldier in Zaria.”
Nwachukwu revealed that the incident occurred on Tuesday, when troops from the Nigerian Army received a distress call to assist in dispersing some hoodlums who had gathered in Samaru, burning tires and attacking security personnel.
Nwachukwu claimed that the mob attempted to attack the military, prompting a soldier to fire a warning shot to scare the hoodlums away, resulting in Mohammed’s death.
According to an Army spokeswoman, the soldier involved has been apprehended and is being interrogated.
The statement stated, “On August 6, 2024, troops of the Nigerian Army got a distress call that some hoodlums had congregated in Samaru in large numbers, burning tires on the road and throwing stones at security personnel.
The army were instantly mobilized and arrived on the spot to disperse the throng and enforce the curfew imposed by the state administration.
“When the hoodlums arrived at the site, they openly attempted to attack the forces, forcing a soldier to fire a warning shot to scare them away, which sadly resulted in the death of a 16-year-old lad named Ismail Mohammed.
As of the time of this report, the soldier in question had been captured and was being interrogated.
“Saddened by the regrettable tragedy, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Taoreed Abiodun Lagbaja, has despatched a high-powered delegation led by the General Officer Commanding 1 Division, Maj Gen Lander Saraso, to visit and condole with the deceased’s family.
“The deceased was buried according to Islamic rites with senior military officers of the Nigerian Army in attendance.”
According to the IGP, he stated “I will disregard that as fake news and incorrect allegations. We did not use undue force at all. Even when the protest became violent, we did not use our full might. We have water cannons that we did not deploy and rubber bullets that we did not use. “We’ve only used tear gas.”
