Human rights activist and convener of #RevolutionNowMovement has insisted he was shot by an officer of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) on Monday in Abuja.
Sowore, who is also a former presidential candidate criticised the Federal Capital Territory Police Command for misleading the public, insisting that he was shot during a protest that held at the Unity Fountain in Wuse, Abuja.
Sowore had initially taken to his twitter handle on Monday to allege that he had been shot by a female police officer during the protest.
“Just been shit by a police officer, ACP Atine at the Unity Fountain in Abuja. #RevolutionNow Let the struggle continue even if they take my life! #BuhariMustGo”, he tweeted.
Also, several persons relayed the incident on social media, insisting that teargas shot was fired at the activist.
The New Diplomat had also reported that an activist, Deji Adeyanju confirmed the incident.
In a viral footage of the incident, Sowore was seen laying on the ground after the canister hit him.
However, in a statement, the FCT police command dismissed the allegations, describing it as false as it claimed nothing was done by the police to harm Sowore.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, ASP Mariam Yusuf, in a statement, said “there is no record of such incident”, noting that police officers professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain, venue of the protest.
Reacting to the statement by the police, Sowore described it as false and malicious.
Recounting the incident, Sowore stated that he went to a protest organised by the Alliance on Surviving Covid-19 and Beyond(ASCAB) chaired by a human rights’ activist and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr Femi Falana.
According to him, some police officers had denied the protesters entry into the venue, adding that about three to five trucks loaded with police officers were at the protest ground.
Speaking further, Sowore claimed he was shot by a female police officers, adding that the female officer instructed her men to shoot their teargas at him, in an attempt to scare other protesters away from rescuing him.
In his words, “Femi Falana’s ASCAB invited us to a protest against growing insecurity in the country. I left home alongside other friends. Upon approaching the venue, we received intelligence that the police had locked the gate.
“We explained to them (police officers) that it is within our rights to protest. We told them that it was wrong to shut the gate of the venue against us but they refused. We reached the Commissioner of Police. He responded that he had no hand in it.
“When I looked back, I discovered that between three and five trucks loaded with police officers had arrived at the scene. We started singing solidarity songs and began to stream live on social media. From nowhere, a policewoman came and approached me with a federal riot gun.
“It is used in shooting projectiles or teargas. It is not meant to be used to shoot persons. At such a close range, she looked at me and said ‘Sowore, you are the one that is here’. She shot at me. I started to bleed. I noticed that blood was running underneath my trousers. I couldn’t walk again.
“Upon being on the ground, she instructed her men to shoot their teargas in our direction, apparently to prevent people from saving me. But the two men beside me rushed me to the hospital. On our way to the hospital, I discovered that my thigh was swelling and expanding.
“We got halfway into the public hospital before deciding to go to a private hospital. When we discovered that one hospital couldn’t manage my level of pains, we went to another private hospital,” Sowore said.
