Ogidi: Chaos As Protesters Storm Effurun Police Area Command
LAGOS APRIL 30TH (URHOBOTODA)-Hundreds of Deltans protested at the Ekpan Area Command over the reported extrajudicial killing of Oghenemine Ogidi by ASP Nuhu Usman, an officer attached to the command.
The protesters, who came from the deceased’s community, were, however, dispersed by policemen who fired tear gas at them after another group invaded the area with clubs and other dangerous weapons.
This development comes as the mother of the 28-year-old musician popularly known as OG Millan alleged that she had lost two sons to police brutality in separate incidents.
Human rights activist Harrison Gwamnishu, who confirmed this in a post on his Facebook page, said that they (human rights organisations and key stakeholders) were at the Area Command in Uvwie–Effurun to meet with the Delta State Commissioner of Police when protesters from Oghenemine’s community arrived.
He said that they had just left Oghenemine’s family home when the protest broke out.
“While at the station, we received a call from the Command PRO, SP Edafe Bright, informing us that the Delta State Commissioner of Police was on his way to meet us at the Area Command in Effurun. As we waited, we made efforts to calm them and assured them that the Commissioner of Police would address their concerns.
“However, after waiting for several hours, the Commissioner did not show up as promised. Tensions rose, and the protesters blocked the road. Shortly after, tear gas canisters were fired at them.”
He said that he and another comrade, Akima, and other stakeholders intervened, appealing to the officers to stop the shooting while they continued to urge the protesters to remain calm and patient.
“Suddenly, a group of armed boys wielding cutlasses and pump-action rifles attacked the protesters, dispersing them and leaving several people injured.”
He said that the Delta State Commissioner of Police should take responsibility for the items that were damaged and lost during the incident, ostensibly over his inability to show up to address the protesters.
In footage by Gwamnishu, a former Senior Special Assistant (SSA) to the Delta State Governor, who was with her alongside his team, the victim’s mother broke down in tears while recounting her ordeal.
According to her, the pain she is currently enduring is not new, as she insisted that Oghenemine was her second son to be killed in circumstances involving police officers.
“My two children were killed by the police,” she lamented. “They first took my son in 2022, and now they have taken another one from me again. How do I survive this?”
The Sun
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