Police foil protest, deny cyclist's death
* Escort Oshiomhole on inspection of fuel stations
From Jane Ezereonwu, Mathias Okwe (Abuja)
and Yetunde Majekodunmi (Lagos)
F OR three hours yesterday morning, a team of policemen from the Force Headquarters laid siege to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) secretariat in Abuja.
The policemen, led by the Commissioner of Police, Federal Operations Department, Mr. Francis Alabi, spoke with NLC President, Mr. Adams Oshiomhole, for several minutes.
During the invasion, a commercial motorcyclist (Okada operator) was allegedly killed by the police. But the police yesterday denied the report, which it said was "a calculated attempt to arouse the anger" of the public against the police.
Another commercial cyclist, identified as Elijah Ani, was reportedly also shot by a policeman on Aguiyi Ironsi Way, Abuja. Ani is now receiving treatment at the Maitama District Hospital, where the police took him to after a brief interrogation.
The officer allegedly left him with N500 to treat the bullet wound.
A statement by the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Command, Mr. Emmanuel Adebayo, denied the reported killing. It read: "The attention of the FCT Police Command has been drawn to insinuations that an Okada rider was shot by a policeman during an encounter with protesters/demonstrators in FCT on 10/06/2004. This is a calculated attempt to arouse anger of members of the public against the police, as there was no demonstration or any encounter with the police in the FCT."
The statement continued: "In fact, the Police had very good relationship with the NLC president, which had led to public order in the FCT. I strongly and do hereby refute that allegation which is unfounded so that members of the public will not be misled by enemies of public peace in the Federal Capital Territory.
"The NLC chairman went with NNPC officials to cross-check the pump prices and it was very cordial. I want to assure members of the public of safety of lives and property in the FCT, as police have enjoyed public co-operation hitherto and will continue to provide adequate security."
Labour had on Wednesday begun a nation-wide strike to protest the Federal Government's increase of the pump price of petroleum products on May 29, 2004.
Although a court order restrained the workers from embarking on the strike and the government charging the new rates, both parties are yet to obey the injunction.
As early as 9.30 a.m. yesterday, policemen numbering over 100 cordoned off the NLC premises on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) Link Road in the Central District Area of Abuja. They barred the Labour officials, social activists and supporters of the NLC from leaving or entering the building.
This lasted for three hours and the altercation between the police and the activists reportedly led to the killing of the motorcyclist.
The team was at the NLC office to bar Labour from marching round the Federal Capital Territory (FCT).
The police claimed that they had information that the NLC was to protest the non-compliance of the Federal Government to revert the pre-fuel tax price regime of N38 as directed by a Federal High Court in Abuja last Monday.
As the team leader met with the Labour boss, inside the office, some anti-riot policemen who manned the major entry and exit points of the premises, frisked passers-by. One of them allegedly opened fire on the "Okada" operators who were milling around the NLC secretariat.
One of the cyclists was reportedly hit and died immediately. He was dragged into one of the police pick-up vans with his motorcycle and taken to the Force Headquarters.
The police later left the premises only after some State Security Services (SSS) operatives quizzed Oshiomhole in his office on the intention of the Labour Movement. They extracted a promise from him that the NLC would not embark on a protest march in the city.
A unit of anti-riot policemen was, however, left to man the major entrance to the NLC building while plainclothes security operatives were also placed on surveillance.
Oshiomhole later went into town to check if fuel marketers had adjusted the prices to N38.
After the exercise, Oshiomhole told journalists that he was disappointed with the government's failure to enforce the court order.
He said that the strike would continue until the government revert to N38 per litre.
The NLC also yesterday wrote to remind the chairman of the Petroleum Product Pricing Regulatory Agency (PPPRA), Dr. Rasheed Gbadamosi, on the agency's inability to live up to its pledge to force down the prices as agreed at the stakeholders meeting on Tuesday night.
The survivor of the police gunshot, Ani, while relating his ordeal, said that because he was on motion, it took him time to know that he was shot until he fell and saw blood gushing out of his leg.
A police van with the registration number NPF 426 B arrived the scene few minutes later and took him to the Maitama Police Station and proceeded to Maitama Hospital where it left the victim.
The Guardian visited the hospital where Ani narrated his story thus: "What happened was that I was just moving on my motorcycle and did not know anything. The next thing I heard was a shot. I could not even believe it because, I did not feel it immediately. It was after a while that I began to feel it. I fell down and discovered that it was a bullet on my leg. It entered from the other side and shot my fuel tank and even damaged it."
"When I fell, the tank was condemned, then the policeman that shot me parked by the side and started beating me. I was asking what the matter is and he could not allow me to say anything. He was just beating me in all parts of my body."
Ani continued: "Later, he entered the vehicle and left me with one of his men to guard me and phoned their station to bring a vehicle that one of the suspects has been shot. That is exactly what he said. I was just lying down and he left me with one of his men and went his way."
"Some minutes later, they came with their vehicle and took me to their office with my motorcycle number QG 986 ABC. When we got there, they questioned me and I told them exactly what happened."
Asked if he was part of the monitoring team led by Oshiomhole, Ani said that the group had left before he was shot.
He said after the interrogation, the police asked an officer to accompany him to the hospital.
Ani further explained that "they asked me if I was with some money and I told them no. Then the man in-charge gave me N500 and asked me to begin the treatment with it."
At the hospital emergency ward, a doctor told The Guardian that he could not ascertain how much the treatment would cost.
He said: "What I am going to do now is just to patch up the wound to at least stop it from bleeding, but we must perform an x-ray to ascertain the extent of damage and to know whether it affected the bone. But for sure, the wound would be infected since it is a bullet.
The type of bullet also determines how infectious it could be."
Briefing journalists in Lagos yesterday, NLC Vice President Mr. Joseph Akinlaja confirmed that over 100 policemen stormed the Labour House with the intention to seal it up. The move, he said, was resisted by Oshiomhole.
Oshiomhole, he said, called the policemen to order, declaring that the protest was devoid of violence which rendered their plan unjustifiable and unconstitutional.
He said that two persons were shot by the police, one in Abuja though not at the NLC's premises.
Akinlaja insisted that the strike would not be called-off until marketers nation-wide comply with the court order.
The Labour leader, therefore, called on the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Tafa Balogun, to ensure that marketers obey the court injunction.`
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