Residents of Ondo State, who participated in the nationwide demonstration demanding an end to police brutality, have continued to share their experiences of the protest.
The residents, mostly young people, said the protest, which started peacefully, ended in violence as a result of the force employed by the police to chase them away from the streets.
According to them, the protest was also hijacked by thugs, who created chaos all across the state.
Some of the protesters, who spoke with SaharaReporters, said they were planning a daily sit-out as part of their strategy when the protest turned violent.
One of them, Olamide Ofakunrin, said he took part in the protest in Ondo for three days before the police began to chase people away with gunshots.
He said, “While we were demanding all these on the streets of Ondo, the same police and security agencies started shooting at us.
“People were wounded and rushed to the hospital for treatment as a result of the attack by law enforcement agents.”
Gbenga Akira, a young man, who participated in the protest in Ore town, said they were peaceful with their demands until police started shooting at them.
He said, “We are not hoodlums and we were very peaceful in our demands and they were also shooting at our parents who joined us to demand a better Nigeria. We had to take some of them to the hospital for treatment.
“Due to the attitude displayed mostly by the police, we retired and thugs had to take over and started destroying both public and private properties.”
Another protester, Sandra Ilemobade, said they had to source blood for those shot by the police.
She said, “The way they (police) shot at people during the protest made me feel sad and at a time I started asking myself if they had not been affected by these anti-people policies of the government that we are all fighting for.
“People were shot and wounded by the police. We had to rush some to the trauma centre in Ondo and began to also source for blood due to the injuries sustained. It was a harrowing experience.”
A photographer, Kunle Akinyemi, who joined the protest in Ore, said they sought blood donation from members of the public online in order to save the lives of those shot by the police.
He said, “I had to join them in pleading with people to donate blood. On social media, we opened a blood bank and for two days we were pleading with people to donate blood for those who lost much blood. It was the police that opened fire on them because they were protesting.”
The police have so far arrested 18 persons in connection with the violence and destruction of properties in the state.
Many of the suspects arrested have denied involvement in the crimes they were accused of by the police.
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