Six people have reportedly been arrested on Friday morning after police officers attacked peaceful #EndSARS protesters in Abuja.
The group of protesters gathered at the National Assembly around 7 a.m. to demand an end to police brutality and to call for widespread reforms within the government.
The demonstrators while in front of NASS complex painted EndSARS graffiti on the floor to remind the Federal Government of their demands.
However, the peaceful protest was violently disrupted by the police officers who fired teargas.
Activist Omoyele Sowore who was present at the scene told newsmen;
We had completed the process when the police came and attacked us. We we were leaving and from nowhere they brought in more reinforcements and started attacking.
Video footage obtained from the Sahara Reporters publisher shows protesters leaving the protest site calmly as a tear gas canister were fired at them – the crowd were then pursued by security forces.
#EndSARS The Nigeria Police Force will never learn, this protest was carried out at the National Assembly in Abuja, we had been done engraving #EndSARS and leaving when they unleashed violence on peaceful protesters but these acts will not delay our freedom! #RevolutionNow pic.twitter.com/07QyPhRL6Q
— Omoyele Sowore (@YeleSowore) November 6, 2020
Sowore also said that security forces smashed the rear window of his car as he was leaving the scene.
Another protester who was present at the scene, Raphael Adebayo, said on Twitter that “at least 4 protestors were arrested”.
After peacefully inscribing #EndSARS at the front of the National Assembly and about to leave this morning, at least four protesters were arrested after needless attack by the Nigerian Police in Abuja.
When we say nothing has changed, this is exactly why.#EndPoliceBrutality
— ADÉBÁYỌ̀ RAPHAEL (@Adebayo_Ralph) November 6, 2020
A similar protest by the group took place at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport and the police headquarters in Abuja last Sunday.
The report attack and arrest comes a day after Lagos State police command announced that it would not allow “any planned protest, procession or gathering” in the state, leaving some to wonder if this policy would be enforced nationwide.
Read Also: #EndSARS: Lagos Police Command Vows To Resist Any Planned Protest
The decision to ban protests in the state was due to looting, killings, and destruction of several properties that recently took place in the state following a clampdown on #EndSARS protesters demanding police reform.
See some photos below;
