A 20-year old sales girl identified simply
as Lucy, was on Friday shot dead by policemen in the Apo area of Abuja.
The girl was hit in the chest by bullets
fired into a photography shop where she worked as a sales girl.
Three other people sustained gunshot
injuries when policemen from the FCT Police Command fired bullets
indiscriminately in an attempt to enforce the demolition order of the Abuja
Metropolitan Management Council.
The policemen had stormed the area around 7
am with officials of Development Control Department, who had come to demolish
illegal structures.
But residents and indigenes, who felt that
the government had no right to demolish their houses when they were yet to be
resettled, resisted the operation.
They claimed that the case was still in
court and that their leaders had advised them to continue to live in the area
pending the determination of the suit.
As the policemen shot indiscriminately to
control the residents, bullets penetrated into one of the shops and Lucy was
hit in the chest. She was rushed to Garki Hospital, but she was confirmed dead
on arrival. Her body has been deposited in the mortuary.
Meanwhile, the Deputy Commissioner of
Police, Mr. Wilson Inalegwu, met the House of Representatives representing
AMAC/Bwari constituency of the FCT, Zephaniah Jisalo, at the hospital when he
visited.
Inalegwu, who was in tears, assured the
lawmaker that the case would be investigated.
“We are not sure what took our men there or
what led to the shooting, it’s still a matter for investigation,” he said.
Emeka Ani, owner of the photo shop, where
the deceased worked, said that his sales boy also sustained gunshot injuries
during the incident.
He said, “From morning, the police
surrounded our area. They said they came for demolition. All of a sudden, they
started shooting sporadically. They shot into my shop and killed my sales girl.
My boy also sustained injuries. Lucy has been with me for about one month. Her
sister brought her for me from Cross River.”
The National Coordinator, Greater Gbyagi
Initiative, Mr. Gimba Baiza, described the incident as wicked.