Democracy Day: Police Fire Tear Gas Canisters At Sowore, Other Demonstrators During Protest In Abuja

 

There was commotion around the Eagle Square in Abuja on Friday when policemen fired teargas at demonstrators, including activist Omoyele Sowore, during a protest against insecurity in Nigeria.

 

 

The protest was part of a nationwide mobilisation by a coalition of civic groups to demand action over insecurity, economic hardship and worsening living conditions.

The protesters were said to be marching from the popular Berger Bus Stop towards Eagle Square in Abuja to demand an end to rising insecurity, the release of abducted school children, and improved governance, when the incident occurred.

 

 

 

Police operatives stationed around the Eagle Square were reported to have fired teargas canisters at close range at the protesters as they approached the area.

A video showed the demonstrators fleeing to safety at the scene, while Sowore was seen being aided by some of the protesters as he gasped for air.

 

 

 

The video also showed him on the ground while receiving assistance.

 

‘Strange Gas’

Sowore accused the police of deploying “strange gas” “at close range” at the protest ground.

“Today, operatives of the Nigeria Police Force deployed a strange gas at the protest ground, at close range, which entered my lungs and left me struggling to breathe before I eventually collapsed,” he said on X.

According to him, this incident shows the increasingly dangerous tactics being used to suppress dissent and intimidate citizens exercising their constitutional rights.

“The objective of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu regime is to silence, destroy, and crush all opposition through fear and force. We shall never succumb to any of his worn-out tactics. We will keep going until we achieve liberation,” the activist, who is also the presidential candidate of the Action Alliance for the 2027 general elections, added.

The police have yet to issue an official statement on the incident.

 

‘Reckless Attack’

But Amnesty International condemned what it described as “the reckless attack on peaceful protesters” during a Democracy Day protest at Unity Fountain in Abuja in which Sowore collapsed and was subsequently “taken to a hospital”.

“The deliberate targeting of Sowore must be investigated. Such targeting of activists solely for exercising freedom of assembly is unlawful and shows utter disregard for the rule of law,” the group said on X on Friday.

It noted that the Nigerian authorities were “clearly using violence” to crack down on human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.

“President Tinubu’s government has failed to demonstrate commitment to upholding the country’s constitution and its international human rights obligations that allow people to freely exercise their human rights, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly,” Amnesty International added.

 

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