IGP-Muhammadu-Adamu

The Inspector General of Police, Mr Mohammed Adamu on Wednesday said the act of attacking police personnel in the course of protecting citizens and giving rooms for people to express themselves was condemnable.

Adamu spoke when he visited five police personnel attacked by members of the El-Zakzakky Islamic Movement of Nigeria at the National Hospital in the course of discharging their duties on Tuesday.

He expressed dissatisfaction over the act and commended the police personnel for showing restrain in terms of not moving the same way with the protesters.

“I have just visited our officers who were shot by members of the El-Zakzakky Islamic Movement of Nigeria during a violent protest in Abuja.

“I have seen them; some are carrying bullet wounds while others were attacked with clubs and stones. It is an act that is not tolerated; it is an act that, we will never take again.

“The right for citizens to express themselves does not mean the right to trample on others to the extent of causing havoc and inflicting injury on them,” he said.

Adamu pledged the commitment of the police to ensure diligent prosecution of the 40 suspects already arrested in connection to the protest.

He said the force would intensify actions to ensure the arrest of other suspects who were currently at large for justice to prevail.

The police boss said the force was prepared for the group to ensure that room was not given for breakdown of law and order adding that the strategy to be adopted would not be made public.

News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the group had during a protest on Tuesday, violently tried to have their way into the National Assembly complex.

It took the intervention of the police operatives on ground to proactively, professionally and used minimum force to disperse the unruly protesters.

Members of the group had during the violent protest, shot two police personnel on the leg and used clubs and stones to inflict injuries on six others.