A policeman attached to the Igando Police Division has been shot dead by
his colleague said to be a mobile policeman during a free-for-all along
Lasu-Igando Road.
It was gathered that the killer cop shot into the air to disperse the
crowd, killing his colleague and injuring a ride-hailing motorcyclist in the
process.
It was learnt that trouble started when the team arrested a commercial
motorcyclist (popularly known as okada rider) for allegedly breaking the
traffic rule.
The rider was said to have resisted arrest and struggled with the policemen
who wanted to seize his bike.
In the ensuing altercation, a crowd who believed the policemen wanted to
extort the rider gathered and started hurling objects at them.
An eyewitness, Kunle Gbadamosi, who spoke to Punch on the telephone, said
the armed mobile policeman cocked his gun and shot into the air, resulting in
his colleague’s death.
He said, “I was on a bus en route to Igando from Iyana-Iba when I chanced
on the incident. It caused traffic and I decided to alight from the bus. I saw
a policeman lying lifeless on the floor. There was confusion everywhere.
“I learnt that some policemen were trying to arrest motorcyclists riding
against the traffic and on prohibited routes. One of the motorcyclists they
were trying to arrest resisted and his co-riders rallied round him because they
felt the policemen wanted to extort him.
“One mobile policeman, who was trying to assist the policemen to get out of
the situation, cocked and fired into the air to disperse the crowd. He shot and
killed a policeman in the process.”
A police source, who is privy to the crisis, said the motorcyclist refused
to let go of his bike knowing that he might not get it back.
The source said, “Usually, when such a motorcycle is seized, it will be
taken to the task force office and the owner won’t be able to get it again. So
the motorcyclist fought to retain his bike and he got support from a crowd.
“While he was struggling with the policemen, the crowd started pelting them
with objects. The mobile policeman fired a gunshot to chase them away but
unfortunately, the bullet hit his colleague and another motorcyclist driving
against traffic. The policeman died on the spot but the rider was rushed to a
hospital. He was injured in the leg.”
Punch Metro reports that it took a reinforcement led by the Divisional
Police Officer of Igando Police Station, CSP Taiwo Kasumu, to restore normalcy
to the area.
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, DSP Bala Elkana, said the
command had launched a manhunt for the motorcyclist who fought with the police
team.
He said, “Our policemen on enforcement on the ban of okada on some
prohibited routes in Lagos arrested two motorcyclists – an O’Pay rider and an
okada rider, who is an OPC (Oodua Peoples Congress) member. He (the OPC member)
was dragging with the team and mobilised people to attack them.
“While that was going on, the team and a mobile policeman with them were
under serious threat. One of those people pushed the mobile policeman and he
cocked his rifle. Unfortunately, he killed his colleague and injured a
motorcyclist. We have commenced investigation into the matter.”