Terrible: 20 people injured in Anambra as police use tear gas in separating a fight

In an attempt to separate two men fighting
over a business deal gone wrong, police in
Awka, Anambra state have caused varying
degrees of injury to no less than 20
innocent passers-by.

The incident reportedly occurred yesterday
at around 3:30pm at Dike Park in the Zik
Avenue axis of the town.

Eye witnesses expressed surprise at the
actions of the police officers in using tear
gas, which is ordinarily a final resort even
in quelling riots, to stop fighting between
just two persons.

The Eagle Online reports:

The eyewitness said: "I was in my shop with
my children and all of a sudden I heard a
gunshot and people started scampering for
safety.

"After that, I perceived tear gas,
apparently shot by the police, and by the
time I realized what was happening, my
daughter had fainted in the shop.

"I had to take her away to resuscitate her
because we could no longer bear the effect
of the gas.

"I wonder why the police would use tear gas
to arrest a situation of that nature when it
is not a riot situation."

NAN gathered that trouble started when the
two persons, a second hand phone seller and
his customer, disagreed over the condition
of a phone that had been sold and bought.

It was further gathered that the two
fighters resorted to the use of dangerous
weapons, including bottles, which prompted a
standby traffic police officer to call the
state police command to quell the situation.

"I think that the phone he bought had a
problem and when he wanted to return it, the
seller refused to collect it back," another
source said.

The eyewitness said that many people
sustained injuries after the release of the
tear gas close to the Eke-Awka Market.

"It is an abuse of power by using tear gas
in a market place just to separate a fight
between two persons," the eyewitness said.

The Police Public Relations Officer in the
state, Emeka Chukwuemeka, said he was not
aware of the incident.e

Chukwuemeka said: "There are situations that
warrant the police to use tear gas.

"This is not one of them." He said the state command would conduct an investigation into the incident.

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