Rampaging commercial motorcycle (popularly known as okada) riders who killed a yet-to-identified policeman in the Cele-Ijesha area of Lagos on Wednesday also injured a Divisional Police Officer (DPO).
According to witnesses, who spoke to The PUNCH, the okada riders were said to be protesting against the enforcement of the ban on their operations in the area when the incident happened.
The DPO was said to be part of the enforcement team.
The policemen reportedly accosted a motorcyclist plying the Mile 2 axis.
In an attempt to seize the bike, the motorcyclist resisted and his colleagues at the spot intervened, resulting colleague in a clash with the policemen.
One of the policemen attempted to use his gun to scare the motorcyclists away, but the motorcyclists overpowered the policeman and allegedly killed him, a witness recalled.
The witness said: “The policemen were trying to arrest one of the motorcycle riders shuttling the Cele-Ijesha and Mile 2 areas. It was while the motorcyclist was resisting arrest that other motorcyclists intervened and demanded the release of their colleague’s motorcycle.
“When the policemen refused and tried to drive the motorcyclists away, they refused to back down and stopped the policemen from leaving the spot. Then, one of the policemen tried to scare them away with his gun but they overpowered him and killed him”.
Another witness said the policemen hurriedly left the scene after realising that their colleague had been killed.
He said: “Immediately the policeman was killed, his colleagues who ran away called for reinforcement, and by the time they returned, the motorcyclists had fled. They were also seen brandishing different weapons while leaving the scene of the clash”.
The clash caused tension in the area as commuters and traders scampered to safety to avoid being hurt.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Superintendent Benjamin Hundeyin said two suspects had been arrested and 41 motorcycles were impounded in connection with the incident.
Credit: Th
