ABUJA – The Senate, on Wednesday, received a petition over the alleged killing of a journalist assigned to cover a protest in Abuja by men of the Nigeria Police Force.
The petition, which was brought to the floor during the start of plenary by Senator Abba Moro (PDP – Benue South), was referred by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to the Committee on Ethics, Privileges and Public Petitions.
The lawmaker, who came under a point of order, recalled that the journalist, Alex Ogbu, on Tuesday, January 21, 2020, was shot on the head by police personnel during a demonstration by members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria in Abuja.
According to Moro, an autopsy carried out on the body of the deceased journalist showed to the contrary that he died from a bullet wound in the head.
The petition reads: “On Tuesday 21st January 2020, Mr. Alexander Ogbu, a peace-loving man and journalist was shot on the forehead by men of Nigeria Police force to kill, and did kill him.
“The sad incident occurred at the scene of a protest led by members of the Shiite group in Abuja. During the protest, another bystander was shot on the leg despite having identified himself as a Vehicle Inspection Officer (VIO) and not a protester.
“This was confirmed by the media and eyewitness account and further buttressed by the spokesperson of the FCT Command in media reports that men of the Nigeria Police Force shot at the protesters.
“Mr. Alexander Ogbu was shot and killed by trigger-happy Policemen who used live ammunition to disperse protesters and ended up killing and maiming innocent citizens going about their legitimate businesses.”
Senator Moro, while giving a summary of the petition, explained that “when the police insisted that it was not the police that killed him, the woman insisted and took the case to the hospital and post mortem was done and it was discovered that the man died of gunshot.
“And so Mr. President, the woman is insisting that the police had killed her husband and their breadwinner, to take responsibility for the upkeep of the family and of course, apologise to the family for taking away their breadwinner.”
The President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan, thereafter, sought clarification from Moro as to whether the wife, who is the petitioner, is presently seeking judicial remedy before any court.
Source: Independent.ng Senate Receives Petition Over Journalist Killed During Shiite Protest
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