Posted by By CHRIS ANUCHA on
Few weeks after soldiers clashed with policemen, leading to loss of lives and property in Lagos, a group of soldiers have not only abducted two policemen but also holding them in captivity at the Ojo Military Cantonment, Lagos.
Few weeks after soldiers clashed with policemen, leading to loss of lives and property in Lagos, a group of soldiers have not only abducted two policemen but also holding them in captivity at the Ojo Military Cantonment, Lagos.
One of the two abducted cops, a corporal, is said to be in a critical condition and receiving medical attention, following alleged severe torture he received in the hands of soldiers.
Daily Sun gathered that trouble started last Thursday when robbers attacked motorists and commuters at the notorious Agric Bus Stop, along Orile-Badagry express road. The robbers, who took advantage of traffic bottleneck on the road, had killed a driver, who worked with the Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area, before an anti-robbery squad arrived.
Six robbery suspects were arrested after a gun duel between the police and the robbers. Some of them were soldiers, while non-soldiers confessed that they rented soldiers' uniforms for robbery.
In reaction to the arrest of their mates, soldiers had stormed the Ojo police station, beat up members of the anti-robbery squad, released the suspects and threatened to deal ruthlessly with policemen at the station. Panic-stricken policemen were said to have pulled off their uniforms and fled the station, fearing that the soldiers would launch an attack on them as they did at Ojuelegba.
A source told Daily Sun that the crisis did not escalate because of the "matured and diplomatic manner in which the DPO handled the situation."
He said: "We thank God. What happened at Ojuelegba would have been a child's play, compared with what would have happened here. Though, we don't have much property to be destroyed by the soldiers, but more lives would have been lost if they had stormed here."
When our reporter visited Ojo police station at the weekend, the DPO was said to have gone to Ojo Military Cantonment to get the abducted cops released.
Meanwhile, people living in the area have decried incessant robbery attacks on users of Orile-Badagry express road. Investigation revealed that people living in the axis now have their hearts in their mouths each time they ply the road because of the activities of robbers, who they said attack them on daily basis.
Such robberies are sometimes bloody, leading to loss of lives. Few months ago, a Togolese official, who was attending a conference in Nigeria, was shot by robbers who made away with foreign currencies, GSM handsets, among others. Recently, a woman was shot in her car at the FESTAC first gate.
Police blamed the robbery attacks on the decision by the Federal Government to withdraw policemen from the Badagry expressway following complaints by visitors from neighbouring countries that there were too many checkpoints along the international route.