Libcom.org Apr 5 2010
Police reportedly fired live ammunition into a crowd of young people on
April 3rd, killing two — at a protest against the force's killing of
another man two days previously.
The protest, called in the Ajegunle suburb against the April 1st killing
of 24-year-old Charles Okafor, was turned into a bloody massacre after
police responded to some hurled stones by spraying bullets around the
street. Local media said four people had died in the incident,
specifically attributing two deaths to the police action. Sources at Lagos
police dismissed the claims, saying no-one had died.
Tensions have been growing in the city as public pressure is put on the
local government to clean up Lagos' notoriously corrupt and violent public
service. The situation came to a head after Okafor allegedly died from a
beating meted out when he was allegedly caught spraying graffiti.
Again, police have refused to take responsibility for the death, saying
there were no marks found in his autopsy and telling reporters "he just
slumped over" as police were arresting him.
The protests in Ajegunle have been mirrored in Abuja, where motorcycle
couriers rioted and barricaded a road on April 2nd after a policeman
allegedly killed one of their colleagues at a police observation point
near the junction. This has also been denied, with police saying the death
was an accident.
Further protests are likely, including one organised by the youth group
Enoughisenough, which will be holding a demonstration at the office of the
Lagos state Governor in Alausa, on April 13th against corruption and the
state's misuse of power.
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