According to the witness, “It was near Bori but I can’t say exactly where. A young man was shot and people started running. The man was rushed to the hospital this morning.”

However, aggrieved youths have taken over the council headquarters in Emuoha and Ikwerre local governments as the protests continued to spread in several parts of the state.

The protesters who invaded the secretariat in Isiokpo in Ikwerre Local Government were said to have set fire to a section of the secretariat, preventing the workers from assessing the place.

Consequently, the newly sworn-in Chairman of Ikwerre was prevented from going in to inaugurate his councillors.

The police, however, later moved in to quell the riot, while the fire was put out, although some parts of the council headquarters were already damaged by the fire.

The situation was similar in Emuuoha local government, where the protesters also prevented the newly sworn-in chairman from accessing the council headquarters.

The protesters claimed that the candidate of the Action Peoples Party, APP, was unpopular and unknown and could not have won the just concluded council election.

The protesters also blocked the main entrance to the secretariat so no one could come in, taking over the administrative building. This prevented the new Chairman, David Omereji, to assume office.

The protesters insisted that they recognised the immediate past Chairman, Dr Chidi Lloyd, as the duly elected chairman and demanded that he be allowed to complete his tenure as extended by the state House of Assembly.

The People’s Democratic Party, PDP, Chairman in the local government, Morrison Jim, addressed the public, reaffirming the party’s commitment to democracy and the rule of law.

He said despite not participating in the recent election due to a court order, the PDP remained strong and united.

According to him, “We respect the legal process and have chosen to abide by the court’s decision. Our focus remains on serving the people and promoting the well-being of our good people of Emolga.”

Earlier on Monday, protesters invaded the Eleme council secretariat and set it on fire, destroying several buildings and cars, including a police vehicle inside the premises.

The spokesperson for the state police command, Grace Iringe-Koko, said she was in a meeting and promised to get back to the reporter.

She was still being expected to get back as of the time of filing this report on Monday afternoon.