Police Shoot Woman, Injure Many in Ughelli While Dispersing Protesting Women
A middle-aged woman was shot, and many others sustained varying degrees of injuries in Ughelli on Monday when Delta State Police Command operatives forcibly dispersed a group of protesting women.
The women from Oteri-Ughelli in the Ughelli North Local Government Area were protesting against alleged police harassment and extortion in their community.
Eyewitnesses reported that what started as a peaceful protest turned violent when the women, numbering in the hundreds, went to the Police Area Command office in Ughelli to voice their grievances but were met with resistance from police officers at the command.
The women carried placards with various messages, such as "Oteri-Ughelli is a peaceful community with law-abiding citizens, stop making life difficult for us" and "Police are making life difficult for our poor and innocent citizens."
However, security operatives reportedly deployed heavy tear gas against the unarmed women, shooting a middle-aged woman in the left leg and beating others to the point of unconsciousness.
Two leaders of the protesting women, Harvest Ugbhwiako and Mrs. Vivian Aphiare, spoke to journalists, alleging that the police unlawfully arrested and detained their children and relatives who were running errands. They claimed they were forced to pay between N150,000 and N200,000 to secure their release on bail.
While speaking to the press at the emergency ward of the General Hospital in Ughelli, where some victims of the police shootings were being treated, the community's President General, Efe Peter, criticized the police "for using guns with live ammunition against peaceful protesters."
He stated, "The women from Oteri community were engaged in a peaceful protest, heading to the palace of the Ovie (monarch) of Ughelli kingdom and the Area Commander's office to voice their grievances."
Efe mentioned that the Area Commander had called him to ask the protesting women to go home, promising to address their complaints. However, "before I could react, the police started shooting and using tear gas on the women, which led to one being shot in the leg and several others getting injured," he said.
He expressed his concern that "people in the community have increasingly found it difficult to enter or leave the community without experiencing police extortion."
"Whenever you leave the community for Ughelli's main town, once it is 8 o'clock in the evening, you can't find motorcycles or tricycles to take you back because of police extortion," Efe explained.
"As a result, our mothers and women often have to walk back from Ughelli's main market daily due to police harassment and extortion of motorists."
Efe mentioned that the Area Commander had called him to ask the protesting women to go home, promising to address their complaints. However, "before I could react, the police started shooting and using tear gas on the women, which led to one being shot in the leg and several others getting injured," he said.
He expressed his concern that "people in the community have increasingly found it difficult to enter or leave the community without experiencing police extortion."
"Whenever you leave the community for Ughelli's main town, once it is 8 o'clock in the evening, you can't find motorcycles or tricycles to take you back because of police extortion," Efe explained.
"As a result, our mothers and women often have to walk back from Ughelli's main market daily due to police harassment and extortion of motorists."
"Recently, the police have been frequently arresting and vandalizing homes belonging to the youth of the community, seizing their personal belongings, detaining them, and demanding large sums of money without any justified reason."
When approached for comment, the Police Area Commander in Ughelli, ACP Adebayo, told journalists that his office "is investigating the complaints from the community and will take appropriate action against any police officers found to be in violation."
He revealed that he had already disbanded a squad of hunters within the command.
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