Publisher of online news platform, SaharaReporters, Omoyele Sowore, was not shot but injured by a tear gas canister fired by a police operative in Abuja.
The former presidential candidate was earlier reportedly shot on Monday by a female police officer at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.
Sowore was preparing to hold a rally with some associates when the incident happened at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, on Monday.
Footage of the incident showed Sowore falling on the ground after the canister hit him.
The details of the attack were sketchy but an activist, Deji Adeyanju, confirmed the incident, adding that he has been rushed to a hospital for medical treatment.
A lawyer, Inibehe Effiong, also said he watched the shooting live on Facebook.
He tweeted: “@YeleSowore has just been shot by a female police officer at the Unity Fountain in Abuja.
“The criminal officer is said to be an ACP. I watched Sowore being shot live on Facebook.”
But the FCT Police Command denied that Sowore was shot, saying there was no record of the incident.
The Command Spokesperson, Mariam Yusuf, in a statement explained that operatives simply resisted protesters “who went on the rampage.”
It said, “The FCT Police Command wishes to debunk the viral message in some sections of the social media purporting that Omoyele Sowore was shot by a female Assistant Commissioner of Police at the Unity Fountain.
“Contrary to the speculation, police operatives professionally restored calm at the Unity Fountain following attempts by a group of protesters to incite public disturbance.
“The protesters who went on the rampage were resisted by police operatives in order to prevent them from causing a breakdown of law and order. There is no record of such incident as at the time of this release.”
