There was tension in Sapele, Delta State, on Wednesday morning, after policemen shot a young man on his buttocks during a protest over the extension of coronavirus (COVID-19) lockdown by the state governor, Ifeanyi Okowa.
Sapele women had taken to the streets to express their displeasure over the extension of movement restriction by Governor Okowa. But in a bid to disperse the protesters, policemen allegedly shot a youth who joined the women on his buttocks.
Speaking to SaharaReporters, one of the protesters, who identified himself as Ochuko, revealed that the protest was going on peacefully before the arrival of the security personnel.
Ochuko said that residents across the city were currently in panic as armed security personnel continue to patrol the area in order to curb the situation. He said:
“Our protest was going on peacefully, we didn’t carry arms not even a cutlass. But as usual, when the policemen arrived the scene, they began to use force on us.
“But because we knew we had not committed any offence by protesting for our rights, we continued.
“As we progressed, the police started shooting sporadically and along the line one of us was shot on the buttocks by a policeman.
“The whole place became tensed while we quickly rushed the victim to a hospital for treatment.
“Everyone is afraid at the moment because we don’t know what can happen next in Sapele,”
Watch video of the protest below:
https://twitter.com/SaharaReporters/status/1250352866427940866