Onybuchi Anele, a resident of the Kubwa neighbourhood of Bwari Local Council in Abuja, was reportedly shot in the face with a tear gas canister by a police officer.
The incident occurred on Wednesday, May 22.
An eyewitness recounted to Leadership Newspaper that the deceased was on his way home from work when the incident occurred.
The eyewitness said the deceased “hit an okada man and his passenger and after stopping and making sure the accident victims were okay, decided to head home in the Haj Estate when policemen arrived the scene.”
The eyewitness elaborated that trouble ensued when the policemen, upon arriving at the scene, insisted that the deceased accompany them to their station, despite the departure of the okada man and his passenger.
This disagreement escalated into a quarrel, culminating in the policeman firing the tear gas canister directly into the deceased’s face at close range.
Widely circulated pictures and videos showed Anele bleeding from his face with a metallic object embedded in it.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer in the FCT, SP Josephine Adeh, in a statement on Friday said the deceased was shot dead through “accidental discharge.”
Adeh confirmed that the tragic incident happened in the Byazhin community in Kubwa, Abuja on Wednesday at about 9:45 pm.
She stated that the Commissioner of Police for the FCT, Benneth Igweh, has ordered an investigation into the incident.
Anele was reportedly taken to the Kubwa General Hospital and later referred to the National Hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries around 8 am on Thursday.