by Akan Ido

There are reports of a violent protest currently going on in Maiduguri, the Borno state capital.

The violence was said to have been triggered after a policeman reportedly shot dead a tricycle driver and his passenger at the West End area of the metropolis.

Tricycle owners were said to have mobilised to attack the Dandal Police Station with military men shooting in the air to disperse the crowd.

Premium Times report that the West End area is currently filled with smokes from burnt tires as youth groups barricaded most of the roads in the area.

Read the report below:

Muhammadu Maduba, a witness told PREMIUM TIMES reporter who was heading towards the direction of the incident that the police officer shot the driver after his first shot missed him and killed the passenger sitting at the back of his vehicle.

“There was a road blockage around the West End area and the tricycle rider refused to heed to the order of the police man to turn back and take the other route, so the police man fired his gun while the tricycle rider and his passenger were trying to move on.

“But the bullet missed the driver and hit the passenger. Upon realizing that his passenger had been hit, the tricycle rider stopped and the policeman walked up to him and fire at him; the driver too slumped and died at once”.

Upon seeing what happened to their colleagues, other members of the Keke Napep riders Union decided to protest the killing by taking to the streets and burning tires.

Some of them headed towards the Dandal Divisional Headquarters of the Police force, making soldiers who were deployed to the area to begin shooting into the air.