#EndSARS protest: Three feared dead as police shoot at protesters in Ondo

At least three people have been feared dead in Ondo town of Ondo State as police shot at peaceful protesters, witnesses including one of the protesters told Peoples Mail.

The police, however, said the protest was hijacked by thugs and they had to restore law and order.

Witnesses told Peoples Mail that the police attacked the protesters opposite Holy Trinity Anglican Church, Yaba, Ondo town Wednesday morning.

Impeccable sources said the protesters defied a state government curfew, announced Tuesday, to continue their protest against police brutality before they were dispersed with gunshots.

“The police were shooting at us,” one of the protesters told our correspondent. “The police first fired live ammunition before firing teargas to disperse,” the young man added asking not to be named for security reasons.

Another witness, who works in the area, said he saw the protesters gather close to a Diamond Bank opposite the central police station. He said the protesters were not armed before they were shot at by the police.

“Everybody including me who was just passing by ran for our lives,” the witness said asking not to be named.

Another witness, a journalist, refuted the claim of the police that the protesters were violent. He said the protesters were on the street when they were directly shot at by the police officers.

The journalist, who asked not to be named for fear of victimisation by his employers, said three people died from the shootings including two secondary students.

“The students were returning from school in their uniform,” he said. “Everyone there saw their corpses.”

When asked how he confirmed the students were dead, the journalist said he saw their bodies and that of a third man, a protester.

Apart from the shooting near the police station, there were clashes between protesters and police officers in some other parts of Ondo town, this newspaper learnt. The exact casualties from those incidents have not been confirmed.

Perhaps angry at the shootings, some hoodlums have attacked the secretariat of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the Ondo State capital, Akure.

Violence against protesters by security forces have continued across Nigeria despite the condemnation by local and international officials.

On Sunday evening, soldiers fired at unarmed protesters in Lekki, Lagos. The Lekki incident has been condemned by many Nigerians with Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu vowing a probe.

Over a dozen people have been killed by security operatives across Nigeria during the protest with the police also confirming that at least three officers have been killed, allegedly by protesters.

The protesters were demanding an end to police brutality and a reform of the police.