Mayhem Broke out in Ladega, Ojubode area of Ikorodu, Lagos State, on
Tuesday after a policeman attached to the Rapid Response Squad allegedly
killed a commercial motorcycle rider, popularly called okada rider.
It was learnt that the policeman, identified simply as Haruna, in company
with three of his colleagues, had arrested the okada riders for
allegedly breaking the state traffic law. He opened fire on the rider,
identified only as Kunle, when he resisted arrest.
It was also learnt that a passerby, Modikat Babatunde, was mistakenly hit by the bullet.
Chairman, Motorcycle Operators Association of Lagos State, Ikorodu
Branch, Mr. Kayode Jimoh, told our correspondent that the incident
occurred around 2.30pm.
Jimoh said, "Around 2.30pm, four policemen attached to RRS came in a
white Toyota Hilux van and parked around Ladega junction. The police
driver remained inside the van while three policemen, identified as
Haruna, Ayodele and Ismaila, alighted from the vehicle.
"The policemen were trying to seize the bike from Kunle but he
resisted. Haruna suddenly cocked his rifle and opened fire, killing him
on the spot. The bullet also injured a woman who was close by."
The incident compounded the usual traffic snarl in
the area as colleagues of the deceased protested the killing of their
colleague.
The killer policeman and his team were said to have fled after the incident.
The second victim, Babatunde, sustained a superficial injury on her hand.
Babatunde said, "I went to collect N50,000 as part of my contribution
to a cooperative society when I heard gunshots. The bullet hit me in
the hand but it did not penetrate.
"Unfortunately, in the pandemonium, the N50,000 was stolen. The
government must see to it that those policemen are brought to justice."
Jimoh lamented the extortion by policemen, adding that he had
complained many times to the police authorities about the excesses of
RRS policemen.
He said it was unfortunate that many okada riders had been killed in
the state by policemen since the enforcement of traffic law began last
year and no policeman had been arrested.
He said, "Haruna and his colleagues are very notorious for extortion,
most times they don’t even arrest errant okada riders. They go to
places that are not restricted and seize the motorcycles.
"They then take the okada to Agric area of Ikorodu and urge you to
negotiate the release of the impounded okadas. They usually extort
between N10, 000 and N20,000 from us before releasing our bikes."
We learnt that the commander, RRS, ACP Hakeem Odumosu, had to come to
the area to restore normalcy. Odumosu was said to have promised the
irate mob that justice would be served.
Soldiers were also said to have arrived the area to assist the police.
As of 6pm, however, the mob refused to allow the police to take the corpse away as they alleged foul play.
When contacted on the telephone, the Police Public Relations Officer,
Ngozi Braide, said she would call back as she had yet to get full
details on the incident.
In a related development, a policeman allegedly shot and killed a youth in Ajah area of the state.
The youth was said to have been killed by the police because he stabbed another man in Ilaje area during a clash.
[Punch Metro]
UPDATE:
The late okada rider is probably a FUTA student who came to Lagos 'to make small money'. He has been identified as Kunle aka Ifa.
Chima Onwe, a former online editor at Channels TV was at the scene and tweeted immediately about the incident... Read his tweets below:
