A peaceful hunger protest in Ughelli, Ughelli North Local Government Area of Delta State, turned violent on Friday as Policemen stationed at the Otovwodo axis of the East-West road allegedly shot and injured a yet-to-be-identified protester.
The incident triggered other protesters to burn tyres and pelt local government officials with sachet water.
For the second day running, protesters converged at the popular Otovwodo junction, causing traffic gridlock on the East-West Road. travellers from Benin to Port Harcourt and other parts of the Eastern region were stranded for several hours.
Because of the shoot; the protesters, including market women,2 forcefully chased away the Chairman of Ughelli North LGA, Jaro Egbo and his aides when his motorcade was sighted at the scene.
Egbo narrowly escaped being lynched by the angry protesters and Otovwodo market women for allegedly instructing his aides to dislodge the protesters.
However, the press secretary to the Council Chairman, Efe Ekete, denied the allegation, stating that the Chairman had come to appeal to the protesters not to attack the security agents.
One protester, who wished to remain anonymous, told journalists that they “were not carrying anything dangerous except for the placards when the police double-crossed them and started shooting tear gas.”
“While shooting tear gas, the police were being pelted with sachets of water by the protesters. As they were driving away, they opened fire on the protesters, and one person was hit in the chest,” the source alleged.
The injured protester was rushed to a hospital by security agents.
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