The Rivers police command has denied firing tear gas at peaceful protesters in the state.
Earlier on Monday, demonstrators converged at the Isaac Boro
Park in Port Harcourt, the Rivers capital, to protest against the emergency
rule in Rivers and the alleged abuse of the cybercrime act by the police.
The demonstrators, who are members of the ‘Take It Back
Movement’, arrived at the protest venue as early as 9 am when police officers
showed up to send them scampering in different directions with tear gas
canisters.
Videos of police firing tear gas at protesters have since
gone viral.
But in a statement, Grace Iringe-Koko, police spokesperson
in Rivers, claimed that officers did not fire tear gas at the protesters.
Iringe-Koko said the police drove off “criminals and
miscreants” from stealing valuables from the public instead.
“The Command wishes to categorically clarify that the report
is unfounded. Upon receiving intelligence regarding the protest, our officers
were promptly deployed to the specified locations,” the statement reads.
“On arrival, a group of miscreants was observed engaging in
criminal acts, including the theft of mobile phones and other valuables from
unsuspecting members of the public. Our operatives responded swiftly,
dispersing the individuals.”
Iringe-Koko claimed that reports that police shot at
protesters were intended to “incite public anxiety and create unnecessary
tension within the state”.
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