The Delta state police command have debunked the claim by protesting women and youths in Ughelli North that a woman was shot, while several others sustained injuries during a peaceful protest in the Delta community.

The police in a signed statement by the commissioner CP Olufemi Abaniwonda, made available to newsmen, said they were aware of the sponsored protest as the use of tear gas was rightly used to disperse the protesters. According to the Delta police boss, the report in some section of the media that policemen shot at peaceful protesters is false and untrue.

CP Olufemi said some community members from Oteri in Ughelli North had met with the police Area command to withdraw its men from the expressway, this was what prompted the protest as the Area commander informed them that the deployment was ordered by the CP to check kidnapping and other crimes. The forceful storming of the police station by sponsored protesters led to the injuring of a police officer before they were dispersed with tear gas.

The injured policeman is said to be receiving treatment in an undisclosed hospital in Ughelli, while the video of the shot woman also resurfaced, condemning the Delta police command action over the protesters. The woman in the video made available to our correspondent is presently receiving treatment at the Ughelli central hospital.