Posted by By Onyekwere Patricia, Lukmon Busari, Charity Nwankwo, Juliana Francis on
The alleged killing of a cart pusher by the police in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos Wednesday, sparked a fracas yesterday resulting in the death of two other young men.
The alleged killing of a cart pusher by the police in the Orile Iganmu area of Lagos Wednesday, sparked a fracas yesterday resulting in the death of two other young men.
Daily Sun gathered that Chidozie Okeke was allegedly killed when policemen on patrol bumped into him and other cart pushers allegedly smoking indian hemp. He was allegedly shot in a bid to stop him from escaping. His body was said to have been left in the canal at Alafia Bus Stop, Orile.
Yesterday, area boys, who were incensed by the killing, challenged policemen who returned to take the corpse away.
The police, in a bid to scare away the mob, allegedly opened fire, leaving two other persons dead and several others injured.
One of the deceased, Emmanuel Uwanaka (27), who runs a communication outfit in the area, was shot on the forehead. He died before medical help could reach him.
Speaking with Daily Sun, an eye witness, Dominic Nwaogbaga, said the deceased was in front of his shop when the bullet hit him.
According to him, the bullet was not a stray bullet, but aimed at him. "The police were not shooting in the air to clear the angry mob. They were aiming at anybody. Another guy was shot in the leg. What kind of police do we have in this country? They are supposed to protect life and property, but what do we have? Police taking life." he fumed.
Speaking on the incident, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Olubode Ojajuni, said the command was not aware of the killing of anybody by the police at Orile.
According to him, policemen at the Orile Division were carrying out their duty when an angry mob, "for reasons best known to them", attacked the police.
He said: "A corpse was left at Alafia bus stop. Someone came to alert the police. Our men went to remove the corpse and people tried to stop them from doing so. The police don't know who killed the man. In fact, nobody has come forward to identify the corpse of the man. The corpse was left at the bus stop in the night by an unknown person."
Ojajuni added: "If anybody has proof that police killed anybody, let alone three people, let them produce the evidence."