By Chinonso Alozie
Protesters who were demanding for the scrapping of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARs, Thursday clashed with the officers of the Imo state police command.
The demonstration which was said to have started about 11:30 am along Okigwe road in Owerri, experienced strange exchanges between the police and the protesters.
Vanguard was told that as the protest was ongoing, just a stone throw from the Imo State University, IMSU, junction a team of policemen blocked the protesters.
Just in the middle of the drama, a police officer whose name was given as officer Obioma Obi, cocked his gun threatening the protesters after a period of time he had exchanged words with the demonstrators to disperse.
But the cocking of Obi’s gun angered the protesters who demanded from the officer Obi, to shoot all of them; a situation which made the vicinity scary for both passersby and business owners scampered for safety.
The protesters flame up and started shouting “This is is what we are saying you have just cocked your gun. You can now shoot us. Shoot us if that will make you happy. We have done nothing just that we are protesting. You can kill us if that is your wish.”
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This is coming days after the Imo state Commissioner of Police, Isaac Akinmoyede, launched the monitoring and enforcement team headed by Assistant Commissioner of Police, ACP, Emmanuel Asufi, on the ban order on the operations of the Special Anti Robbery Squad, SARs.
He went further to mention to them that the ban includes on all routine patrol, roadblocks, checkpoints, stop and search, traffic duties as well as indiscriminate search of mobile phones and laptops.”
