The Police in Makurdi have fired tear gas canisters at protesters who have taken to the highway in the Benue State capital over continued killings in the state.
We reported earlier that protests commenced early on Sunday morning after dozens were killed in a Friday night attack on Yelwata, a Benue community on Abuja- Keffi -Lafia – Makurdi Road.
Commissioner of Police (CP) in the state, CP Emenari Ifeanyi, who was at the scene of the protests, had appealed to the protesters to abandon the protest and support security agencies to flush out the killers.
He spoke with journalists briefly and suggested that the protests may divert attention and “allow the enemy the opportunity to be planning.”
However, the protesters were not moved.
They did not allow the Deputy Governor, Dr. Sam Ode, who visited the protest scene, to address them.
The police fired tear gas, with the protesters crying out: “No violence.”
Dooyum Naadzenge is the Abuja Bureau Chief and Head of Northern Operations at Daily Times. After escaping from the protest scene, he told TNT he had to run to save his lungs.
He said there was chaos after the police fired tear gas.
