The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command has refuted allegations that its operatives attacked protesters at Utako Market in Abuja earlier today, 1st October, 2024.
The Command’s Public Relations Officer, SP Josephine Adeh, stated on Tuesday that the reports that alleged attack on protesters by policemen is “completely false and misleading”.
According to reports earlier today by some news media, police officers fired teargas at protesters during the “Fearless In October” protest over bad governance in Abuja. The protesters had gathered at the Utako area in Abuja, the country’s Federal Capital Territory (FCT), waving the Nigerian Green-White-Green flag and banners with various inscriptions such as “EndBadGovernance”, “DiasporaVoting”, “EndHighLivingCosts”, amongst others but were dispersed by policemen.
Reacting to the reports, Adeh said the operatives acting on intelligence, only took measures to forestall some miscreants who were taking advantage of the protest to loot shops in the market and as a result, extended focus to them.
“As a responsible agency, we could not stand by and allow traders to be robbed of their hard-earned money and belongings without intervening.
“We therefore urge the populace to disregard such misleading and mischievous information, as the command is committed to ensuring the safety of the populace in the exercise of their civil rights.
The October 1, 2024 protest, tagged “FearlessInOctober”, was propagated on social media, some two months after the August #EndBadGovernance protests. The two demonstrations are synonymous in themes as aggrieved young people demand a reversal of petrol subsidy removal and electricity tariff increase, among other economic issues.
