A
peaceful protest organised by Benue State Students, turned bloody after
soldiers reportedly shot dead five people during the protest which was
later hijacked by hoodlums as the governor escaped being lynched.
Posted by Gifted on Thu 5th Jan, 2018
The protesters
Governor Samuel Ortom of Benue State yesterday, escaped death by a
whisker when a protest against killings by Fulani herdsmen turned
violence, acording to New Telegraph.
It was gathered that soldiers reportedly shot dead five people
during the protest organised by the National Union of Benue State
Students (NUBESS).
This came as President Muhammadu Buhari yesterday commiserated with
Ortom and the people of Benue State over the killings. The protest,
which was later hijacked by hoodlums, started about 7a.m. and lasted for
over five hours as irate youths made bonfires and blocked the Wurukum
roundabout which links the state with both the North and South of the
country.
Travellers were stranded in the scorching sun as some drivers had
to take their passengers into the bush for cover until the situation
became calm.
It took security men several hours to dislodge the protesters who
carried various placards bearing inscriptions such as: “PMB act now or
lose our votes in Benue,” “We are tired of burning our loved ones,
Fulani must leave,” “PMB must come down himself,” among others while
they were shouting “No going back.”
But hours later, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Bashir
Makama, led his men to dismantle the road blocks and disperse the
protesters.
Shortly after, Governor Ortom, in company with top government functionaries and security aides, stormed the area.
No comments:
Post a Comment