FIVE people were killed, on Thursday, while many others were injured in Ikole-Ekiti, in Ikole Local Government Area of Ekiti State, when a protest in the town over the location of one of the nine new federal universities went awry.
Nigerian Tribune gathered in the town that the march started as a peaceful protest around Ikole town over the announcement by the Federal Government in the media, on Wednesday, night, that the federal university meant for Ekiti State would now be sited in Oye-Ekiti as against an earlier announcement that the university was meant for Ikole-Ekiti .
Witnesses told the Nigerian Tribune that the protest, which saw people of different ages and sexes take to the streets, started peacefully at about 7.30 a.m. before the arrival of a detachment of policemen who allegedly shot and killed two of the protesters instantly at Iloka area of the town.
The killing caused confusion among the protesters and the people of the community, in response to the action, attacked and burnt the Idi-Ose police station in the town along with two cars and three motorcycles parked on the premises of the police station.
Nigerian Tribune gathered at the scene that the bodies of two of the victims were taken away by the fleeing policemen, who were members of the Swift Response Squad (SRS) of the state police command, in their van, while two others were seen at the mortuary of the State Specialist Hospital, Ikole, where they were deposited.
The town was covered in smoke as large bonfires were ignited in several parts of the town by the angry protesters while they blocked most of the roads, thereby preventing travellers from Abuja and other parts of the country from driving through the town
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