Security agents allegedly opened fire on unarmed residents protesting the never-ending kidnapping in Abraka community, Ethiope East Local Government Area of Delta State, yesterday.

It was learned that nobody was shot dead, but a protester sustained an injury on his face, with blood spouting.

The protesters ran for safety as shots rented the air, with security agents advancing further to take over the protest venue.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, Bright Edafe, who confirmed that the Commissioner of Police in the state, Olufemi Abaniwonda, had directed the Area Commander to handle the situation, stated that the Area Commander had dealt with the matter and the protesters had dispersed.

?It was later that we heard that somebody was shot, and until this moment, nobody has been able to take the Divisional Police Officer, DPO, to the person they claimed was shot so that we can see the person,? he said.

Responding to the reporter who interjected that eyewitnesses said one person was shot and injured, the PPRO said, ?If they said somebody was shot, they should be able to give us a name and location.?

Residents of Abraka have embarked on daily protests over the alarming rate of abduction in the university town since last week.

They were angry that the police in the Abraka Division were not confronting the kidnappers, which gave the abductors the nerve to abduct people at will.

Students of the Delta State University (DELSU), Abraka, who gave the Commissioner of Police in the state a 72-hour ultimatum to tame the rampaging abductors on May 29, warned they would join the residents in the daily protests, yesterday.

A source said the students mobilised and joined the residents at a popular junction in the community where the people gathered daily with placards to call attention of the state government and security agents to their predicaments in the hands of kidnappers.

Our source said: ?The area commander addressed the protesters, including the students, saying that the commissioner of police had mandated him to restore sanity to Abraka.

?He said he has taken charge and the police would go into the bush to comb for the kidnappers, but the residents should give the security agents time to handle the development.?

?The president of the Students Union Government (SUG), Augustine Onovughegor, vented the grievances of the students over police inaction and later led the students of the university out of the protest venue.

?He told the area commander that the students would return to join the protest if, after two days, the police did not bring law and order to Abraka.

?After the students and some persons left the venue, there was a report that a protester stoned a security agent, and the angry security officials opened fire.

?The area commander wanted the protesters to disperse, which seems to be what the police and army came to effect in Abraka. Some protesting residents declined to vacate the protest venue, which is why security agents opened fire to disperse them.?

Meanwhile, an activist, Victor Ojei, reacting to the incident, said: ?For days, youths in Abraka protested against the relentless killings and kidnappings plaguing their community.

?Rather than addressing the suffering, the authorities responded with silence and neglect and ultimately, deployed soldiers to suppress and humiliate them. Now, the question remains: who gave the order to open fire??

Harrison Gwamnishu, another activist, said: ?The people of Abraka staged a protest over kidnapping, and I have just been informed that security agencies began shooting at unarmed protesters. Are their grievances legitimate? Yes. Are there instances of kidnapping? Yes.

?I condemn the attacks on our people advocating the safety of all and urge the Delta State government to address the concerns raised by the protesters. Failure to do so, we will all join in the solidarity protest.? (Vanguard, but headline rejigged)

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