{"id":123137,"date":"2025-10-22T02:19:27","date_gmt":"2025-10-22T01:19:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?p=123137"},"modified":"2025-10-22T02:19:27","modified_gmt":"2025-10-22T01:19:27","slug":"no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/","title":{"rendered":"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">By Oscar Okhifo<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The Nigeria Police Force has denied reports that its operatives fired live bullets at protesters during the #FreeNnamdiKanu demonstration in Abuja on Monday.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The protest, convened by Politician and human rights activist Omoyele Sowore and other supporters of the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Nnamdi Kanu, drew a large crowd demanding Kanu\u2019s immediate release.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Amid viral videos showing protesters fleeing amid thick smoke and loud popping sounds, Sowore alleged that security operatives, including the police and soldiers, fired live ammunition and tear gas to disperse peaceful demonstrators. Several people, including journalists and lawyers, were reportedly arrested.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">However, the Force Headquarters dismissed the allegations as false and misleading. In a statement on Monday, Force Public Relations Officer, ACP Benjamin Hundeyin, said no live bullets were used during the operation.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cAt no point did the police fire live ammunition at any protester. What people heard were sounds from tear gas canisters used to disperse those who attempted to breach restricted areas,\u201d Hundeyin said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">He explained that the police acted lawfully and in line with standard operational procedures, adding that officers only used minimal force to maintain order after protesters defied warnings and tried to access secured zones around the Presidential Villa, National Assembly and Eagle Square.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Hundeyin said the operation was guided by a valid court order obtained last week restricting demonstrations in those areas, which the police described as \u201ccritical national infrastructure.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cOur duty is to protect lives and property. The court order clearly prohibited gatherings within sensitive zones of the Federal Capital Territory, and our officers only enforced that order,\u201d he added.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">But the organizers of the protest have accused the police of using excessive force. Sowore, in a statement posted on social media, insisted that both live bullets and tear gas were fired at peaceful protesters, describing the action as \u201ca gross violation of fundamental rights.\u201d<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">\u201cThey attacked unarmed citizens who were only exercising their constitutional rights to assemble and speak out. We will not be intimidated,\u201d Sowore said.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">The #FreeNnamdiKanu protest was one of several demonstrations recently held to pressure the Federal Government to comply with court orders granting the IPOB leader bail.<\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"text-align: justify;\">Human rights observers have called for an independent investigation into the conduct of security forces during the protest, amid growing concerns over Nigeria\u2019s handling of civic demonstrations.<\/div>\n<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on the_content --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on the_content -->","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Oscar Okhifo The Nigeria Police Force has denied reports that its operatives fired live bullets at protesters during the #FreeNnamdiKanu demonstration in Abuja on Monday. The protest, convened by&hellip;<!-- AddThis Advanced Settings generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Share Buttons generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><!-- AddThis Related Posts generic via filter on wp_trim_excerpt --><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":123140,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-123137","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore - Pointblank News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore - Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"By Oscar Okhifo The Nigeria Police Force has denied reports that its operatives fired live bullets at protesters during the #FreeNnamdiKanu demonstration in Abuja on Monday. The protest, convened by&hellip;\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pointblank News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-10-22T01:19:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"642\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"353\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Our Reporter\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"headline\":\"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-22T01:19:27+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\"},\"wordCount\":401,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\",\"name\":\"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore - Pointblank News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-10-22T01:19:27+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg\",\"width\":642,\"height\":353},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/\",\"name\":\"Pointblank News\",\"description\":\"Just the news\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c\",\"name\":\"Our Reporter\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Our Reporter\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore - Pointblank News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore - Pointblank News","og_description":"By Oscar Okhifo The Nigeria Police Force has denied reports that its operatives fired live bullets at protesters during the #FreeNnamdiKanu demonstration in Abuja on Monday. The protest, convened by&hellip;","og_url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/","og_site_name":"Pointblank News","article_published_time":"2025-10-22T01:19:27+00:00","og_image":[{"width":642,"height":353,"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Our Reporter","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Our Reporter","Est. reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/"},"author":{"name":"Our Reporter","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"headline":"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore","datePublished":"2025-10-22T01:19:27+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/"},"wordCount":401,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/","name":"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore - Pointblank News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg","datePublished":"2025-10-22T01:19:27+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/WhatsApp-Image-2025-10-21-at-09.47.51.jpeg","width":642,"height":353},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/news\/no-live-bullets-were-fired-at-protesters-police-reply-sowore\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"No Live Bullets Were Fired\u00a0 At Protesters, Police Reply Sowore"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#website","url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/","name":"Pointblank News","description":"Just the news","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/ba61acbe7e8967bcf3f3ba603d9db23c","name":"Our Reporter","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/83b3820ef93d502ae3a617b2c881ca42?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Our Reporter"},"url":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/author\/admin\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123137","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=123137"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123137\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":123142,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/123137\/revisions\/123142"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/123140"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=123137"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=123137"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pointblanknews.com\/pbn\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=123137"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}