Members of Abuja Newspapers Distributors Association, ANDA, have vowed to stage a peaceful protest at the National Assembly and the Force headquarters on Friday (today) over the alleged killing of a vendor, Ifeanyichukwu Elechi Emmanuel by a policeman in the convoy of Speaker, House Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
According to SaharaReporters, President of ANDA, Benji Obute, said the the slain newspaper vendor and his wife recently welcomed a baby and he was planning to have the naming ceremony for the newborn on Saturday, November 21, 2020.
Obute said the speaker had handed over the N9,000 to the victim before the incident.
Elechi was the leader of newspaper vendors in the area.
He added that Gbajabiamila hurriedly stopped his convoy when he heard the sound of a gunshot and inquired from his security aides who responded that there was nothing.
One of the police officers in the backup vehicles reportedly shot the vendor in the head and fired other bullets in the air.
“We were together this morning, all of us discussing how the association will be represented at the naming ceremony of his baby because the wife just gave birth to a bouncing baby boy and the christening has been slated for Saturday,” Obute said.
“What happened was that at the Federal Secretariat, it has become a tradition that all those vendors hail those politicians. The traffic light there takes time before it will pass you. So, most of these politicians, when this traffic light holds them, will come close to them and be hailing them, and they used to give them money.”
“The Speaker has been giving them money and not only today. Today he gave them N9,000 before the incident. He brought out some money and handed it over to this boy, Ifeanyi, who was their leader. Immediately he collected the money the convoy moved.
But one of the overzealous police officers at the back of the convoy shot this young man and fired another bullet in the air.”
Watch the moment after the vendor had been shot below:
