Popular musician, Charly Boy, slumped while a journalist with Silverbird TV was injured on Tuesday after policemen fired tear gas canisters at protesters demanding the return or resignation of President Muhammadu Buhari who is on medical leave in London.
The protesters, under the aegis of Concerned Nigerians, had gathered at the Millennium Park opposite the Unity Fountain, Maitama, Abuja for the second day of their sit-in before police dispersed them with tear gas and water cannon.
While Charly Boy, 66, managed to get back on his feet with the aid of fellow protesters, the journalist and another wounded person were taken to a clinic inside the Federal Secretariat Complex for treatment.
Former social media director of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Deji Adeyanju, who is the leader of the Concerned Nigerians group, shared videos of the police action on social media, insisting they will continue with the protest.
Over 120 policemen attacked about 10 of us. They used teargas, water cannon & dogs but there’s NO GOING BACK.
We continue tomorrow. pic.twitter.com/Dz2zAo7htZ
— Adeyanju Deji ?? (@adeyanjudeji) August 8, 2017
Tuesday’s protest was significantly different from that of Monday which ended without any major incident.
Buhari has been dogged by speculation about his health since June last year when he first went to London for the treatment of what the presidency said was a persistent ear infection.
He then spent nearly two months in London in January and February and said on his return in early March that he had “never been so ill”.
His current medical leave began on May 7 and there are no firm assurances he will return to the country soon, prompting protesters to demand his resignation.
Last month, members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition PDP went to see him in London and even took pictures in an attempt to douse public anxiety.
