At least 2 killed in violent Nigeria protest

A deputy commissioner of police in charge of operations in Abuja was shot and fatally injured by the protesters, said Frank Mba, the spokesman for the police.

"The officer who was immediately rushed to the hospital died moments later while receiving treatment," said Mba.

He said two police officers also sustained serious injuries.

According to local broadcaster Channels TV, a young reporter of the media organization was also shot and sustained serious injuries during the melee, and later died while receiving treatment at a local hospital.

The 23-year-old reporter, identified as Precious Owolabi, worked as an intern at the local television station. He was covering the clash between the police and protesters when a stray bullet hit him.

The radical protesters, who are members of the Islamic Movement in Nigeria, also known as Shi'ites Movement, marching for the release of their detained leader El-Zakzaky, stormed a major road in Abuja on Monday, burning down a sub-station of the National Emergency Management Agency (NEMA) located near the government secretariat in the Abuja city center.

Mba said 54 suspects had been arrested in connection to the violent protest.

"The heavily armed protesters defied all sense of decency and violently attacked innocent citizens and police personnel on duty," said a statement by the police late Monday.

El-Zakzaky had been in detention for about four years in Nigeria and this had led to previous violent clashes between his followers and the police.

In November, a Nigerian court refused El-Zakzaky and his wife's bail. They were first arraigned on May 15, 2018, following their arrest in the northern city of Zaria in December 2015.

They were being charged by the Nigerian government of culpable homicide, unlawful assembly, and disturbance of public peace, among others.