Two natives of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), identified as Sunday Danjuma and Jacob Audu, have been shot by policemen deployed to quell a protest over the demolition of houses in the Karsana community of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC).
The Karsana community chairman, Zakari Baba, who confirmed the incident to newsmen, said the police opened fire when the natives, whose houses had been demolished, attempted to force their way into the community.
He said the commotion began around 10 a.m. when policemen stationed at the main gate of the community barred the natives from entering the village to evacuate their belongings.
“Some of the natives tried to force their way through the gate, which led to the police opening fire,” he said.
“In fact, as I speak, two of the natives who sustained bullet wounds are currently receiving treatment at the Gwagwa Health Center,” he added.
The Commissioner for the Public Complaints Commission (PCC) representing the FCT, Hon. Musa Dikko, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview.
He said two Karsana community natives sustained bullet injuries after police tried to disperse the protesting villagers.
“I led some of my officials to the community when I received a distress call that two natives had been shot. We were able to calm tensions, and we have invited the developer to our office to explain who authorized the demolition,” Dikko stated.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the FCT Police Command, SP Adeh Josephine, were unsuccessful, as she neither answered calls nor responded to text messages.
Recall that the chairman of AMAC, Hon. Christopher Zakka Maikalangu, had on Saturday expressed outrage over the demolition, which also affected the palace of the village chief, Yahaya Barde. Maikalangu, while addressing newsmen, threatened to sue the developer.
