Ezekwesili’s Rally Was Disrupted By Government-Sponsored Protesters With Machetes In Abuja
The rally of a group led by former Minister Oby Ezekwesili that demanded more serious action to save the abducted girls was disrupted by allegedly government-sponsored #ReleaseOurGirlsNow protesters with axes, machetes and cudgels at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.
According to Sahara Reporters, recently organized protest was funded by the government to undermine efforts by the Ezekwesili-led group that feels the Jonathan administration has done too little, too late to find and save the Chibok girls. The mandate of the government-sponsored group is to change the conversation by laying exclusive blame on the Islamist group, Boko Haram, that carried out the abductions.
Eyewitnesses stated that the government-sponsored group were carrying dangerous weapons to intimidate those who were protesting government ineptitude alongside a former minister in the administration of President Olusegun Obasanjo, Ms. Ezekwesili.
It was gathered that the pro-government group destroyed chairs and smashed journalists’ cameras.
Earlier this morning, when the #BringBackOurGirls campaigners led by Ms. Ezekwesili had gathered peacefully at the fountain, an armed gang from the rival group stormed the same venue to interrupt them. The gangsters circled the Ezekwesili group blowing whistles and chanting abusive songs.
When a cameraman from AFP news agency tried to record Ms. Ezekwesili’s speech to her group, the members of the government-created group attacked him, smashing his camera. They also broke chairs the protesters had brought, seized numerous mobile phones from their owners, and beat up some members of the Ezekwesili group.
According to a source, anti-riot police who were at the scene turned a blind eye as the hoodlums carried out their attacks.
“The policemen were there and did nothing even when our attackers started smoking India hemp [marijuana] openly at the fountain right in front of them,” one of the protesters stated. He added that many of the protesters sustained various injuries.
Ms. Ezekwesili showed a copy of approved letter, that her group had sent to the Inspector General of Police and to the Commissioner of Police for the Federal Capital Territory to apprise them of their plan to hold a series of peaceful rallies to draw attention to the plight of the Chibok schoolgirls, to indicate that the group were allowed to stage protest at the Unity Fountain.
The next event is scheduled for Thursday, May 29, to mark Democracy Day. The venue will be ThisDay Dome, a few meters away from the Unity Fountain.
According to Sahara Reporters' investigation, a few days ago that the pro-Jonathan group had been recruited from various villages and slums around Abuja and given a mandate to pose as patriots who contend that the government has risen to the challenge of finding the missing girls. The Chief of Defense Staff, Alex Badeh, and other top military officers, held a high-profile meeting with the pro-government group at the Eagle Square.
Source: Legit.ng
