Many Nigerians on Friday via social media demanded justice for a 16-year-old girl, Tina Ezekwe, allegedly killed by a trigger-happy policeman in the Iyana Oworo area of Lagos on Tuesday.
The cop was said to be from the Bariga Police Division.
Reports indicated that the policeman was trying to arrest a bus driver for violating the nationwide curfew imposed by the Federal Government to check the spread of coronavirus.
In the process, the policeman was said to have shot the bus driver and Tina standing by the roadside.
It was learnt that Tina, an Imo State indigene who resided at Bariga, was rushed to a hospital after the incident. However, she died on Thursday evening.
A video posted on Twitter by Oworo TV (@OworoTv), which went viral, showed Tina’s body being dragged amid a panicky crowd.
As of Friday, the video had gathered about 160,000 views on the social media platform.
Using the hashtag, #JusticeforTina, Nigerians demanded the prosecution of the erring police officer.
On Friday, #JusticeforTina was one of the most trended topics on Twitter. Actress Adesua Etomi-Wellington shared a picture of Tina on her handle, @AdesuaEtomiW, and captioned it “#JusticeforTina. Tina was only 16.”
Another actress, Beverly Naya with the handle @BeverlyNaya also lent her voice to demand justice for the murdered teenager. “This is all too much! Police brutality needs to stop! #JusticeForTina,” she wrote.
Another Twitter user, @aproko_doctor, asked all Nigerians to demand justice for Tina.
He wrote, “All she did was stand at a popular junction and she was shot by a Nigerian policeman. It could be any of us, and we will not stop until we have a reform of the Nigeria Police Force.
“I don’t want to mind my business and still be shot.”
Sally Suleiman, with the handle @is_salsu, also wrote, “The people who are meant to protect the citizens are killing them. Please lend your voice! #JusticeForTina.”
Also, Efam Harris (@iefamharris) said, “Tina is the young boy with an iPhone; Tina is the young woman who sells clothes; Tina is the gentleman who returns late from work; Tina is everyone who the Nigeria Police have killed for no reason; Tina is all of us. #JusticeForTina.”
Twitter user, Ugwunna Ejikem, lamented that Tina was shot dead even though she didn’t bear arms or looked suspicious for any crime.
“Her only ‘crime’ was standing at a popular junction within the reach of a trigger-happy Nigerian policeman.
“How long will this continue and how long will they keep getting away with this?
“Please lend a voice. #JusticeForTina,” she wrote.
Another user, Danny (@Danny_Walterr), described the incident as heartbreaking.
