Roundup: Calm returns after police, protesters clash in Nigerian capital
Xinhua,April 18, 2018 Adjust font size:
by Olatunji Saliu
ABUJA, April 17 (Xinhua) -- Normalcy returned to the Nigerian capital Abuja on Tuesday after clashes between the police and hundreds of protesters on Monday.
Heavily armed security operatives were seen manning the major roads in the city center on Tuesday, including the road leading to the national parliament and the government secretariat.
On Monday, a march for the release of a religious leader turned violent when protesters pelted a team of riot police in Abuja.
One protester was shot dead and many others wounded following the skirmish between the police and the demonstrators.
The riotous situation disrupted activities in parts of Abuja for several hours.
Police prevented protesters from entering the Unity Fountain in the Maitama area of Abuja, where they held their previous protests.
Authorities banned open protests or meetings at the Unity Fountain last Friday, citing a prevention of security breach.
The Unity Fountain, a major landmark in Abuja and a public green park now frequented by protesting groups, was seen to be heavily manned by the police operatives carrying out the official order before the violence erupted.
During the protest on Monday, police used water cannon and tear gas against the demonstrators who hurled stones and clubs at a police vehicle.
Some of the policemen also fired warning shots in the air to disperse protesters.
Local police authorities said 115 protesters were arrested following the melee.
Some 22 policemen were wounded during the violence, according to the police authorities.
Police accused demonstrators of attacking innocent citizens, disrupting business activities, obstructing traffic and smashing the windscreen of vehicles during their protest.
The Shi'ites, also known as members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, had embarked on the protest to demand the release of their leader, Ibrahim El-Zakzaky, who was arrested and kept in secret police custody since December 2015, after some of his followers clashed with soldiers in the northwestern state of Kaduna. Enditem