Channels TV reporter shot as Shi’ites, police clash in Abuja (updated)

A yet to be identified reporter of Channels Television was shot during a clash between members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria (IMN) and the police in Abuja on Monday.

The incident happened while policemen were trying to disperse a protest staged by IMN members.

A sub-station of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) at the federal secretariat, Abuja, was set on fire while two vehicles of the agency were consumed in fire.

The protest, which began from NITEL junction at Wuse zone 2, was disrupted by armed  policemen who cordoned off the road leading to the national assembly and three arms zone.

Bullets were fired at the protesters as they advanced towards the Eagle Square.

“I had to park my car and run for safety,” a resident told TheCable.

TheCable reporter counted at least two corpses at the scene of the attack.

The IMN members better known as Shi’ites had hit major roads within the city to protest the continued detention of Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, their leader.

Most of the roads have been abandoned as many residents scuttled to safety.

In Nyanya, another part of the city, traffic is at standstill after the protesters embarked on a march along the major road in the area, pressing home their demands.

WHY THE PROTEST?

The Shi’ites want their leader who is being detained against court order released.

El-Zakzaky was arrested after the group clashed with a convoy of the chief of army staff in Kaduna state in 2015.

Although there have been court orders granting him bail, the government has failed to release him, agitating his followers.

Their protests in recent months have led to loss of lives and destruction of properties in parts of Abuja.

Although, the police restricted protest in the nation’s capital to Unity Fountain, the sect vowed to march on the streets, daring policemen to kill its members.

On Friday, Garba Shehu, presidential spokesman, absolved the federal government of El-Zakzaky’s travails.