Newspaper vendors in Abuja will stage a protest on Friday in reaction to the death of one of their colleagues killed by a police officer attached to the convoy of House Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
The deceased vendor identified as Ifeanyi was killed on Thursday by a stray bullet around Federal Secretariat in Abuja when the security aide fired live bullets in the air to disperse “unidentifiable men” who appeared to cross the speaker’s convoy after he had stopped by to exchange pleasantries with the vendors.
Reacting to Ifeanyi’s death, newspaper vendors led by the President of the Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association (ANDA) Benji Obute have resolved that newspapers would not be shared in the city until 10.a.m. on Friday in protest against the sad incident.
Mr. Obute is also calling on all members to converge at the distribution centre in Area 1, for a peaceful protest aimed at drawing the attention of the Speaker and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) to the incident.
“Sequel to the sad incident that happened this afternoon at the Federal Secretariat, which resulted in the death of one of us, Mr Ifeanyichukwu Elechi, a mass action will be carried out between the hours of 6am and 10am.
“A peaceful protest to call the attention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, whose security detail fired the shot, and the IGP to the brutal murder will be staged within that period.
“Media Houses are enjoined to cooperate with us and ensure that no single paper is leaked out as any paper that defaults will be sanctioned. We must join hands to get justice for the fallen vendor,” Mr. Obute said.
It is worthwhile to note that Ifeanyi’s death comes at a time when Nigerians are still agitating for an end to police brutality.
Security details attached to VIP are notorious for their overzealous and indiscriminate use of force against citizens, a character which led to the recent death of the newspaper vendor.
