The
Public Relations Officer of the Nigerian Police Force, has opened up on
why water canons and teargas was used to disperse anti-Buhari
protesters in Abuja on Wednesday.
While speaking during a Channels TV’s programme,
Sunrise Daily on Thursday, the Nigerian Police Public Relations
Officer, Jimoh Moshood, accused the leader of a group of protesters
under the aegis of Concerned Nigerians, led by Adeyanju Deji and Charley
Boy, of being overly dramatic.
The Police PRO defended the reason why the Police resorted to using tear gas and water cannons to disperse protesters, saying that it is in order to prevent a breakdown of law and order.
Recall that the protesters had on Monday taken to the streets of
Abuja calling on President Muhammadu Buhari to either resume work or
resign. However, on Tuesday, the Police alleged that hoodlums had
infiltrated the protest which would have led to a total breakdown of law
and order if not for their prompt intervention.
Although the group, numbering less than 10, in what appeared to be a
peaceful protest were seen sitting at the Unity Fountain, the Police
claimed that hoodlums and miscreants took over the process, hence the
need for them (the Police) to take necessary action.
The leader of the group, 66-year-old Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy, had collapsed twice during the protest as a result of the teargas and water which Police officers sprayed at him and others.
The Police Pro stated that the account of the incident as narrated
by Charley Boy was wrong as the Police did not initially prevent the
group from embarking on the protest, but rather showed their support on
the first day.
“His first account alleging some Police men to have told them
that they shouldn’t come out to protest in the first instance is not
correct. No Police officer would do that. Anything that has to do with
politics or people protesting lies in the rim of the responsibility of
the people as provided for in the Constitution.
“But like I said, we noticed the mix up in them of miscreants
and hoodlums and that is why the police have to intervene to ensure that
the protest doesn’t go beyond that. Like I have explained situations of
riot to you, we don’t want this protest to dovetail and end up in riot
and that is why we quickly intervened. So his account is not correct at
all.
“When the Camera comes in must have been when Police
intervention had been done and they see smoke of tear gas. The smoke of
tear gas can go up for quite some minutes without subsiding until after
the normal time that the tear gas ought to subside.
“So any camera man can pick a picture of that and you can see
over dramatisation by the leader of the protesters who was sitting on
the chair because the camera was coming to his side he decided to fall
down,” Moshood said.
Watch the dramatic video interview below;
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