Soldiers, Police Forcefully Disperse Abuja Protesters, Use Teargas

Naija news.

24.07.2013, 19:51  Local

Soldiers on Wednesday morning mounted road blocks at strategic entry routes into Abuja, to prevent intending protesters from marching against the recent Senate voting on the constitutional amendments.

Their presence was first noticed at about 8 a.m. along the ever busy Abuja-Keffi road which is the link road to Mararaba and Karu, satellite towns housing more than 50 percent of workers in the Capital city. The roadblock caused serious traffic which lasted until late afternoon.

The soldiers were also at both the Abuja-Zuba express way and the Musa Yar'Adua expressway. Some of the soldiers, who refused to comment on their mission, referred Nigerian Telegraph to their authorities.

Their mission was later understood when peaceful protesting Abuja indigenes were forcefully dispersed by the police at the entrance into the National Assembly complex.

Two elderly women fainted while soldiers cordoned-off protesters as they converged at about 8 a.m. The local sources informed that the police officers fired live bullets into the air consistently and shot tear gas canisters at the protesters, chasing them towards Eagle Square, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and down to the Ministry of Finance office complex junction.

Several groups have fixed several days to protest against some of the Senate votes against some bills to address their issues. The Nigeria Labour Congress is threatening to go on strike because the bill to legalise the N18,000 minimum wage was removed from the amendment.

Meanwhile, the President of the Original Inhabitants Association of Abuja, (OIDA), Danladi Jeji, said: "The police, in about eight Hilux vans with soldiers standing by, consistently used tear gas on our people which later led to two old women fainting as a result of the tear gas."

Protesters called on the Inspector General of Police to investigate the use of brutal force against "Abuja natives who have continued to be treated as second-class citizens by the Nigerian government". They rebuked the police, warning that such use of crude force in the future may lead to them being militarised like the Niger Delta militants.

The "original inhabitants" disclosed that they were at the National Assembly to peacefully protest the non-passage of the Mayoralty bill by the National Assembly.

They advised residents of FCT to brace up for a wave of mass protests and civil movements against the Nigerian system that has "refused to give a voice or representation to FCT indigenous people throughout the years," as they promised to return to the National Assembly on another date to continue their protest.