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Juliana Taiwo-Obalonye and Molly Kilete, Abuja
President Muhammadu Buhari has commiserated with the families of Precious Owolabi, a National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) member with Channels Television, and Deputy Commissioner of Police, Usman Umar of the Federal Capital Territory Police Command, who died during the violent protest by members of the Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) in Abuja on Monday.
He described Owolabi and Umar as “law-abiding, hardworking and vibrant Nigerians with a promising future,” calling their untimely death “sad, regrettable and worrisome.”
Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, in a statement said Buhari condoled with the management and staff of the television station and police leadership over the loss, urging them to remain steadfast and committed to their professional callings.
The president reassured residents of Abuja in particular and the country in general to go about their lawful activities without fear.
President Buhari added that perpetrators of the mayhem will not go unpunished, stressing that no government can tolerate unceasing affront to constituted authority.
“Let nobody or group doubt or test our will to act in the higher interest of majority of our citizens.”
He prayed God Almighty to grant rest to the souls of the departed and speedy recovery to the injured.
Meanwhile, IMN has condemned Monday’s killing of Owolabi and DCP Musa.
It also commiserated with families of Owolabi, the Nigerian Union of Journalists (NUJ) and the police.
The group in a statement absolved itself of the killings, saying their deaths “were a clear case of falling victim to a shooting spree embarked upon by the police”.
The president of the Media Forum IMN, Ibrahim Musa, in a statement maintained that members of the movement did not carry weapons and could not have been responsible for the killing of the senior police officer and the journalist.
“A quick analysis of images and video clips showed that the ‘Free Zakzaky’ procession was peacefully progressing prior to the brutal crackdown. It also clearly showed that the protesters weren’t bearing arms as usual and traffic was moving smoothly without hindrance.
“Furthermore, the images also showed the police, armed to the teeth, were intent on stopping the movement of the protesters, at all cost. Few other policemen and plain cloth security agents were seen piling used tyres for use to set bonfires. By the time the police struck, about a dozen members of the Islamic Movement had been killed. The police were seen picking the corpses to an undisclosed location, perhaps for mass burial,” Musa said.
