Police authorities in Delta State have denied attacking protesting women in Ughelli, Delta State yesterday.
The clarification came following reports that the police had shot at women from Oteri-Ughelli in the Ughelli North Local Government Area of the state who were protesting against alleged incessant harassment and extortion by policemen in the community, reports Channels TV.
The reports claimed that a middle-aged woman was shot while many others sustained varied degrees of injury during the protest in Ughelli on Monday, as operatives of the Delta State Police Command resorted to forceful dispersal of a group of protesting women. Reports further said the women protesters had carried placards with assorted inscriptions such as “Oteri-Ughell is a peaceful community with law-abiding citizens, stop making life difficult for us”; “Police are making life difficult for our poor and innocent citizens”; etc.
However, security operatives reportedly used heavy teargas against the unarmed women and shot one middle-aged woman in her left leg while others were beaten to stupor. Two leaders of the protesting women, who volunteered to speak with journalists, Harvest Ugbhwiako and Vivian Aphiare, were reported to have alleged that the police, unlawfully arrested and detained their children and wards who were on errands. She said they were made to part with between ₦150,000 and ₦200,000 to secure their release on bail.
Also addressing newsmen at the emergency ward of the General Hospital, Ughelli, where some victims of the police gunshots were admitted, the President General of the community, Efe Peter, berated the police “for using guns with live ammunition against the peaceful protesters”.
However, in a statement to our correspondent today, Police Public Relations Officer, Delta State Command, Edafe Bright, described the report as a “false narrative”.
He said officers from the command did not shoot the protesters. He, however, confirmed that the women were dispersed with teargas.
“The Command is aware of an allegedly sponsored protest in Ughelli North LGA today 6/5/2024 and wishes to debunk the false narratives currently being circulated on some sections of the media that Policemen shot at peaceful protesters. The Command wishes to state that nobody was shot during the protest, however, the use of tear gas was rightly used to disperse the protesters,” the statement said in part.
While giving details of the incident, Bright said on May 6, 2024, at about 11:30 hours, some members of the Oteri community, Ughelli had approached the Area Commander Ughelli, and requested that policemen be withdrawn from the express road.
“The Area commander declined and informed them that the deployment was in compliance with the directive of the Commissioner of Police CP Abaniwonda Olufemi on the need to ensure police presence in that area to prevent kidnapping and other crimes.
“Surprisingly, women from the community in their numbers forcefully stormed the Area command premises in a violent protest, beating up a policeman in the process, and they were dispersed with the use of tear gas.
“The report making rounds that policemen shot at peaceful protesters is false and should be completely disregarded,” the statement further said.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner of Police Delta State, Abaniwonda Olufemi, has sued for calm, while reiterating that the command would not succumb to pressure from any quarters because, the adequate protection of life and property is the constitutional mandate of the police, and remains the priority of the command.
