According to a report by News Central TV, on Wednesday February 18, 2026, a former Minister of Youth and Sports, Solomon Dalung, has raised a serious alarm over the tactics used by security operatives to disperse protesters at the National Assembly, claiming that an unknown “gaseous substance” was deployed instead of standard tear gas.
Dalung, who was participating in the ongoing demonstrations for electoral transparency on Tuesday, February 17, 2026, shared his ordeal following the clash between police and activists demanding the “real-time” electronic transmission of election results.
Drawing on his long history of civil activism, which spans over five decades, Dalung insisted that the substance released by security forces on Monday did not match the behavior or effects of the tear gas used during Nigeria’s military eras or more recent protests.
“What was released on the protesters yesterday, I do not believe is the normal teargas I’ve experienced my five decades of being on the street during the military era had so much tear gas smoke from the military and today’s but what I saw yesterday was a release of a gaseous substance which was released into the atmosphere,” Dalung stated.
He described a rapid and aggressive spread of the gas, which he said affected him despite being a significant distance from the National Assembly gates.
“I was about 1,000 meter away from the gate and it took less than 5 seconds for me to be attacked by it. Now the impact of the the the gaseous substance which they released if you watch it went straight up into the atmosphere and it was released from a gas container,” he recounted.
The former minister detailed the physical toll the substance took on his body, noting that the irritation was far more persistent than that of standard crowd-control agents.
He described the sensation as a deep, lasting burn that remained hours after the initial exposure.
“The impact on my skin was sensational burning and it lasted even to to the night,” Dalung added…..See More
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