Maiduguri Erupts: Officer Accidentally Injures Himself During Protest

Maiduguri sees disorder as an immigration officer accidentally shoots himself amidst ongoing protest tensions.

On Thursday in the Bulunkutu locality of Maiduguri, chaos broke out as a protest was being restrained by an immigration officer who unintentionally shot himself thrice in his foot.

Upon hearing the gunshots, the protesters were initially agitated as they thought one of their fellow comrades had been harmed. However, after realizing that it was actually an immigration officer who had sustained injuries, the crowd settled down.

As documented by LEADERSHIP, the Bulunkutu Railway Junction has been blocked off by a combined patrol unit that includes police officers, members of the military and immigration services as well as operatives from DSS and Civil Defence in an effort to prevent demonstrators who may cause unrest from accessing Maiduguri’s central district.

The officer, who had injured himself, was a member of the security team assigned to control the gathering. He was quickly taken to a nearby hospital but his current state is uncertain.

The demonstrators were protesting against a range of concerns, such as how the government was managing the continuing insurgency in their locality, corruption and exorbitant living expenses.

The occurrence highlights the intricacies and strains associated with public protests in this region, indicative of the wider dissatisfaction with Nigeria’s present socio-economic state.