PROTEST CLAIMS ONE IN OSUN

The mass protest against the sudden removal of subsidy on petroleum products yesterday recorded the first major casualty in Osogbo, Osun State capital with the death of a protester in the early hours of the day.

The victim, who was identified as Raheem Mojeed, died after suffering matchete cuts during an attack by a suspected political thug .

Mojeed was allegedly attacked at Olaiya Juction, Osogbo where a crowd of protesters had gathered on Monday to demonstrate against subsidy removal. He was attacked and brutalized when a fracas ensued between loyalists of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) after the convoy of a politician had run into the crowd and injured two persons.

Mojeed was said to have been rushed to Our Lady of Fatima Catholic Hospital where he was treated and later discharged on Monday evening.

However, he eventually died yesterday morning after he had returned home from the hospital.

The news of his death raised tension in the state capital when the protesters learnt that the deceased was hacked to death with a charmed cutlass.

Mojeed, popularly called Apampa by his friends and admirers was a member of one of the civil society groups protesting against subsidy removal.

Daily Sun gathered that his corpse was deposited in the morgue of the Ladoke Akintola University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo at about 1.00 pm yesterday.

The state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Solomon Olusegun confirmed the incident, adding that the suspects had been arrested.

Meanwhile, commercial activities remained grounded in Osogbo and other major towns in the state as both intra and inter-town roads were deserted while markets were also closed. Public servants also complied with the national strike declared by the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).

Organised labour and civil society groups addressed rallies in various locations including the popularly Olaiya Junction.

Residents in the state capital stayed indoor while a few people who ventured out trecked to their destinations.