Police say activist over-dramatised fall for the camera

The entertainer and activist was in the group of protesters who were attacked with tear gas and water cannons by police in Abuja on Tuesday, August 8, 2017.

A protester was injured and had to be rushed to the Federal Staff Clinic Federal Secretariat, while Charly Boy also fainted due to the attack.

ALSO READ: Why we 'attacked' anti-Buhari protesters - Police

Despite widespread condemnation of the crackdown, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Jimoh Moshood, has accused the activist of faking his fainting due to the presence of the camera.

While speaking on Sunrise Daily on Channels TV on Thursday, August 10, Moshood said, "You can see over dramatisation of the leader of the protesters who was sitting on a chair and because the camera is coming to his side decided to fall down.

"The same man went to AIT that same day immediately after the incident and went and narrated what had happened. I’m not being persecuted but I’m allowed to say the side of the police.

"The first day of the protest it was peaceful, the second day when miscreants mixed in, police used its judgment to disperse them."

The sit-out protest against President Muhammadu Buhari started on Monday, August 7, with the "Our Mumu Don Do" movement marching from Unity Fountain down to the Presidential Villa, demanding that the president should return to the country or resign from his position.

On Tuesday, the group, alongside "Concerned Nigerians" group, led by former social media director of the People's Democratic Party (PDP), Deji Adeyanju, were attacked by the police when officers fired gas canisters and water cannons to dismiss them.

ALSO READ: Police attack protesters against President with teargas, water cannons

Despite Tuesday's setback, the group marched again in Abuja on Wednesday with renewed strength in numbers.

The protesters' full demands are: "that the president either personally or through his aides make the true detail of his health known to all Nigerians; that president should address all Nigerians in a language we can all understand on the true state of his health and other national issues; that he returns to the country and resume work as president of Federal Republic of Nigeria in order to lead us out economic and security quagmire we have been pushed into as a nation; if President Buhari fails, refuses and/ or neglect to do any of the above , then he should resign from office; if he fails to honourably resign, then he should be impeached from office by the national assembly."

ALSO READ: Protesters demand President's return or resignation

President Buhari left the country on May 7 to resume treatment for an undisclosed illness in London, leaving Acting President Yemi Osinbajo in charge of the country's affairs.

The president and his team have insisted that his return is imminent, but there has been no confirmed date.