The Anambra State Police Command in Awka, yesterday, denied the media report that protesters were shot over the arrest of Mr Nnamdi Kalu, Director of the Radio Biafra. He described the report as misleading.
In a press statement issued and signed by the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Awka, Mr. Ali Okechukwu, Police said they only went there to disperse a crowd of “misguided” men and women on the expressway.
“It is evident that on Tuesday, 20th October, 2015, some misguided youths took to the federal Onitsha/Enugu expressway, harassing people and blocking the highway, causing heavy traffic jam, with attendant hardship to innocent and unsuspecting citizens and commuters.
“On the receipt of calls from well-meaning people of the state on the ugly development, the Police command, oblivious of what and who were behind the sudden convergence of the crowd on the highway, dispatched policemen to the scene.
The Police presence and professional handling of the crowd dispersed them and eased up traffic. Only few of the hesitant were arrested, cautioned and released immediately the same day,” the statement read in part.
Police said it was disturbing to read in the papers that four persons were shot in Anambra. He said the publication was an attempt to malign the police command and agitate the serene and peaceful atmosphere in the state. He regretted that the police were not contacted, according to him, before the publication.
The statement said the Command rebuts, refutes and explicitly denies the alleged shooting of protesters.
(David Onwuchekwa, DAILY SUN)
