Police deny shooting Sowore, say normalcy restored at Unity Fountain~Starimagenews.com

The Federal Capital Territory command of the Nigeria Police has denied reports trending on social media that the publisher of Sahara Reporters, Omoyele Sowore, was shot at by a female police officer at the Unity Fountain, Abuja, today during a protest.

A statement by the command’s spokesperson, ASP Mariam Yusuf, said that, on the contrary, operatives of the command “professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain following attempts by a group of protesters to incite public disturbance.”

Police statement reads:

“FCT Police Command wishes to debunk the viral message in some sections of the social media purporting that ‘Omoyele Sowere was shot by a female Assistant Commissioner of Police’ at the Unity Fountain.

“Contrary to the speculation, police operatives professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain following attempts by a group of protesters to incite public disturbance.

The protesters who went on the rampage were resisted by police operatives in order to prevent them from causing a breakdown of law and order. There is no record of such incident as at the time of this release.”

However, in a video clip trending online on Monday, Sowore could be seen on a stretcher, being taken to hospital, with a gaping hole on his right thigh, apparently either by a bullet or a tear gas canister fired directly at him.

The command enjoined residents to remain calm and law-abiding while reaffirming its commitment towards the protection of lives and property within the FCT.