Police Tear Gas Canister Hits APC Women Leader In Kogi, Leaves Severe Facial Injuries

By: Abudu Olalekan

Police Tear Gas Canister incident sparks outrage in Kogi community as residents demand investigation and justice after APC Women Leader Iyabo Iwamofe suffers severe facial injuries.

A quiet Sunday evening in Iffe Ijumu, a small community in Ijumu Local Government Area of Kogi State, suddenly turned chaotic. Loud bangs. People screaming. Confusion everywhere. And in the middle of it all, a woman lay on the ground, bleeding.

That woman is Miss Iyabo Iwamofe — a shop owner, a familiar face in the community, and the Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Iffe/Ikoyi Ward. Now she’s nursing serious facial injuries after what residents say was a police operation that went terribly wrong.

People in the area are angry. Some shocked. Others simply demanding answers.

According to witnesses, the incident happened on Sunday, March 8, 2026. Iwamofe had been sitting in front of her shop like she often does. Nothing unusual about the evening. Just another calm Sunday.

Then a police vehicle appeared.

What followed happened fast.

“I was sitting in front of my shop when I saw a police van close by,” Iwamofe said from her hospital bed in a video obtained by Reportersroom. Her face shows a deep scar — difficult to miss.

“The next thing I saw, they started firing… and I fell.”

Her voice in the clip sounded tired. Still in pain.

Several residents who were nearby backed up her account. One of them, Sade Obangbemi, said she was simply charging her phone when the situation spiraled.

“I was close by to charge my phone when those policemen came suddenly and started shooting,” she explained.

“They shot Aunty Iyabo. Honestly, we thought she was dead.”

There was panic.

People rushed to help. Some carried her, others cleared the way. Eventually she was taken to the General Hospital.

“But by the time the hospital accepted her it was already around 8:30 that night,” Obangbemi said.

Another resident, who preferred not to be named, insisted the injured woman had no confrontation with the police before the incident.

“No fight. No argument. Nothing like that,” the resident said.

“She was just in front of her shop when she suddenly dropped after the shot. We were all outside relaxing. It was Sunday.”

Videos circulating in the community appear to show part of the police operation. In one of the clips obtained by Reportersroom, gunshots can be heard echoing across the area. Seconds later, people begin screaming.

The sound alone is unsettling.

But local leaders say the situation might be even worse than it first appeared.

Bayo Joshua, Chairman of the Iffe Development Union’s Lokoja Branch, later clarified that Iwamofe was not hit by a bullet but by a tear gas canister fired by the police.

Still, the result was devastating.

According to him, the canister struck her directly in the face.

“In front of her own shop. Without provocation,” Joshua said in a statement.

The injury, he explained, left serious damage and emotional trauma.

“The attack caused permanent harm to her face and has taken away many freedoms she once had,” he added.

Community members say this incident isn’t happening in isolation. Joshua pointed out that it is already the second reported case involving alleged harassment by officers from the Nigeria Police Divisional Headquarters in Ekinrin-Adde since the station was inaugurated on June 25, 2025.

That has raised concerns.

A lot of them.

The union has now formally appealed to the Kogi State Commissioner of Police to open an urgent investigation into the matter.

“We respectfully call on the Commissioner of Police to investigate this unprofessional handling of arms that has resulted in permanent damage to a respected member of our community,” Joshua said.

Residents are also demanding compensation for Iwamofe and stronger safeguards to prevent similar incidents.

And there is another layer to the tension.

A source within the community told Reportersroom that the Chairman of Ijumu Local Government Area, Alhaji Haruna Ibrahim, has yet to release any official statement about the incident.

That silence hasn’t gone unnoticed.

Especially because the chairman was recently linked to another controversy involving a young resident.

Earlier this month, Reportersroom reported that a 22-year-old man, Ayomide Felix Abiodun, had been detained by police for more than a month. His alleged offence? A Facebook post criticizing the leadership of the Ijumu Local Government Council.

Sources say Abiodun didn’t even write the post.

He only manages a Facebook page called Okun Voice where the content appeared.

“The original author, whose Facebook name is Lod Mabayode Felix, is currently on the run,” a source familiar with the situation said.

Still, Abiodun was the one arrested.

The post in question accused the local government leadership of mismanagement and undemocratic practices.

For many residents in Iffe Ijumu, the two incidents now raise troubling questions about power, policing, and accountability in their community.

And for Iyabo Iwamofe, the scars — physical and emotional — may last far longer than the headlines.