Sales Girl Shot Dead By Policeman

Federal Capital Territory Police Command has commenced investigation into the killing of a 20-year old sales girl, Lucy, who was shot dead by policemen from the Special Anti-robbery Squad in Abuja on Friday.

Lucy was inside a photography shop at Apo area of Abuja where she worked as a sales girl when she was hit in the chest by bullets fired by the policemen who were enforcing the demolition of illegal structures by officials of development control department.

The deceased, who was brought from Cross River to work as sales girl, had only spent a month before the ugly incident, according to her employee, Emeka Ani.

Three others sustained gunshot wounds when the policemen from the FCT Police Command allegedly fired bullets indiscriminately in an attempt to enforce the demolition order of the Abuja Metropolitan Management Council.

The residents of the area had resisted moves to carry out the demolition exercise, leading to a confrontation and sporadic gunshots by policemen.

FCT  Police Public Relations Officer, Doris England, said the Criminal Investigation Department had commenced investigation into the incident, adding that the policemen on duty at the demolition site would be interrogated to know what transpired.

“By Monday or Tuesday, the CID would have interrogated the policemen and the development control officials to know what happened on that day. I cannot give any update until the conclusion of investigation,” she said on Saturday.

SUNDAY PUNCH gathered that the shootings that led to the death of Lucy and gunshot injuries by three other persons at the demolition site were the result of pressure on the AMMC officials by the FCT Administration.

FCT Minister, Senator Bala Mohammed, had held a meeting with FCT officials on October 2, 2012 where he complained that the FCT had been taken over by sex hawkers, beggars and illegal structures. He had threatened to sack any official that failed to take his job seriously.

Our correspondent learnt that the AMMC officials were afraid they might lose their jobs if they failed to demolish the shanties and other illegal structures at Apo, hence the recourse to the use of force by the policemen attached to the demolition team.

The minister had warned the officials that he would not tolerate incompetence and inefficiency, stressing that “the tea party is over.”