Monday 9 January 2012

Occupy Nigeria uprising - ten protesters killed



POLICE have killed 10 protesters as the Occupy Nigeria uprising gathers force.

Tens of thousands of people have been taking to the streets as trade unions join in the rebellion with an indefinite nationwide strike against Goodluck Jonathan's neoliberal regime, which has hit the poor by removing a state fuel subsidy.
 
President of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Abdulwaheed Omar, who confirmed the killing, accused the police of using excessive force to quell the protests and cracking down on protesters.
 
Giving the breakdown of the casualty figure, Omar said six protesters were killed in Maiduguri, the capital of Borno State, three in Lagos and one in Kano during the demonstration, reports The Moment
 
The Red Cross also confirmed that police fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters in Kano and Lagos wounding at least 18 people, some of whom died in the hospital. 
 
For the Lagos incident, angry protesters at Ogba in Lagos, identified one of the slain protesters as Ademola Aderinto, and the injured as Alimi Abubakar, Egbujor Samuel and Iyara.  
 
One of the protesters, Dickson Oracle said, ‘There were about seven policemen shooting in the air to disperse protesters.
 
"The DPO (police chief) opened fire targeting these four people and shot them. One died on the spot, because he sustained serious bullet wounds and the remaining have been brought to the hospital."
 
Another protester, Abubakar, said: "We were standing in front of our Mosque when some people who were sharing hand bills got to the place and just as we were still talking with them, suddenly police vehicles pulled up and started shooting sporadically on the ground before one of their Ogas took the gun from one of them and fired at us and the bullet hit me on my left thigh and I fell down. 
 
"We were not even protesting on the road."
 
In Lagos the usually busy Mushin, Fadeyi, Jibowu, Ikorodu Road, Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway were blocked by the protesters who made bonfires on the roads. 
 
At Fadeyi bus stop, demonstrators burnt tyres and scores of youth were seen chanting anti- government slogans. 

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