Police Gun Scars Sowore As Tear Gas Cannister Tears Through His Thigh

Revolution Now activist, Omoyele Sowore was shot at by the Police on Saturday morning. He was lucky to be alive as the tear gas canister shot at him escaped tearing through his private part, but leaving a big scar on his thigh.

The activist escaped a major disaster as the force of the teargas dispensed could have killed him or render him disabled forever.

Omoyele has earlier claimed that he was shot by a Police woman but the Nigerian Police denied firing at him directly.  It has emerged that he was actually hit by a teargas cannister fired by a police woman at the enrance gate of Unity Fountain, a public accessible venue where Police had laid seige to disallow a protest speech. The venue is a public accessible venue where many usually converged for social or political activities.

His aide confirmed that he had actually been hit by the force of a teargas canister.

Sowore was shot as he attempted to gain entrance into the public place and the canister tore through his thigh, missing his private arena.

A group of dispatched Police officers had been stationed in the venue while Sowore engaged them as he attempted to gain entrance into the venue.

The venue was meant to be the meeting point for his Revolution Now protesters as he was also to address the crowd.

The venue stationed officers had denied him entrance and he and his fans were engaging them and suddenly, gunfire, apparently meant to disperse his crowd roared through the crowd and a gas canister landed on his thigh, tearing off some flesh and making him bleed.

Protesters had converged on the fountain at 8:30am. But the police allegedly denied them entry into the facility and the scene had turned rowdy.

Sowore has been a regular guest of the Nigerian Police since his famous Revolution Now movement embarked on a major protest in 2019, which led to his Police detention for several months until he was taken to Court in early 2020. During the hearing, a suspected government agent lawyer as seen putting a pin into his neck generating controversy that he was being injected with lethal substance.

Revolution Now also carried our another protest last October 1, 2020, alongside the agitators of Yoruba Nation self-determination.

In August 2020, Sowore had called for a nationwide protest and on the eve of the protest was arrested and detained by Department of State Services (DSS).

But in a statement on Monday, FCT Police spokesperson, Mariam Yusuf, denied that Sowore was shot, debunking that such incident ever happened. He said Sowore was never shot at by the Nigerian police.

Police statement added: “Contrary to the speculation, Police operatives professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain following attempts by a group of protesters to incite public disturbance,”.

The statement added: “The protesters who went on the rampage were resisted by Police Operatives in order to prevent them from causing a breakdown of law and order.

“There is no record of such incident as at the time of this report.”.