The killing of a middle-aged man, Suleiman Danladi by men of the Nigerian Police Friday sparked violent protests in some parts of Lokoja, the Kogi State Capital, as hundreds of youths set up bonfires and vandalized several vehicles and properties leading to serious commotion and halt in traffic for several hours. Suleiman was hit by a bullet fired by one of the policemen attached to officials of the state environmental agency who were prevented from burning the mass of refuse dumped around the area by some fuel racketeers, who insisted that the burning was better done at night. As the black marketers engaged the environmental officials and prevented them from burning the refuse, the situation became rowdy and the policemen began to shoot sporadically into the air while the black marketers, who had mobilised other youths to join them in resisting the officers, fled. However, Suleiman who was coming towards the area and oblivious of what was happening was hit by a police bullet and died while the police were said to have left the scene afterwards leaving the family of Suleiman to bury him. While the corpse of Suleiman was being prepared for burial according to Islamic rites, youths in the area mobilized themselves and set up bonfires as well as barricaded major roads in the town, just as they smashed and vandalised vehicles that got entangled in the melee. A reporter with Confluence Cable Network simply identified as Judd and his Cameraman were assaulted by the protesting youths inflicting them with injuries while they only managed to escape without their Camera being smashed while commercial buses traveling through Lokoja to and from the Eastern part of the country were also caught in the web and were forced to take alternative routes. When contacted on phone, the Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abubakar Salisu denied knowledge of the incident saying he has been on a special assignment in Jos for the past two days and directed THISDAY to the acting Commissioner of Police, Alhaji Abubakar Magaji. However, at the Police Headquarters, the acting CP was said to be unavailable while all efforts to reach him on phone proved abortive as his mobile phone was inaccessible. Source: Thisdayonline.com