The incident led to confusion among residents and motorists in the area as the magistrate, prosecutors and other officials scampered for safety.
Policemen on Thursday in Abuja fired gunshots to disperse the FCT Mobile Court sitting in Dei-Dei, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, to free their colleague suspected to have violated the COVID-19 safety protocol.
The incident led to confusion among residents and motorists in the area as the magistrate, prosecutors and other officials scampered for safety.
Trouble started when personnel of the FCT Ministerial Joint Enforcement Task-Team on COVID-19 Restrictions arrested the policeman for not wearing a face mask in public and for overloading his vehicle with passengers.
The culprit, Agada Gabriel, who was arrested around the premises of the court, was said to have made a phone call to his colleague, one Smart Jacob, to help him resist arrest.
He was held and sentenced by the court but refused to pay the fine slammed on him or engage in community service as directed.
SaharaReporters gathered that while an altercation ensued between the offender and court officials, some policemen from a nearby barracks stormed the area and shot sporadically to scare people.
The irate policemen were said to have dismantled the court's canopy and vowed that they would no longer allow any sitting in the area.
Confirming the incident, Chairman of the task force team, Ikharo Attah, expressed confidence in the ability of the FCT Commissioner of Police, Bala Ciroma, to apprehend the erring personnel and mete out appropriate sanctions.