The Lagos state police command has released a statement addressing the death of a 16-year-old boy identified as Emmanuel Chukwu was shot dead in Ijora-Bida area of Lagos state during a shootout between the police and some hoodlums.
According to the statement signed by the PPRO, SP Chike Oti, the police were only forced to shoot at hoodlums after being attacked. Unfortunately, Emmanuel Chukwu who was one hoodlums was shot at and later declared dead after he was rushed to the hospital. Read the statement below;
The attention of the Nigeria Police, Lagos State Command has been drawn to the news making the rounds in some sections of the media that a 16-year-old boy was shot and killed by police men attached to Ijora Badia Division without justification. It was also stated that the police is denying knowledge of the circumstances that led to the death of the boy later on identified as Emmanuel Chukwu.
At this point, it has become necessary to set the records straight and clear the air on the issue.
On the 11th of March, 2018, a distress call was received that a suspected kidnapper was about being lynched by irate mob at Afolabi Street, Ijora-Badia. The police mobilised some patrol teams to rescue the woman under attack.
On getting to the scene, the police team discovered that the woman had been stripped; she was helpless and at the verge of imminent death. The team braved the odds and rescued the woman from the jaws of death.
The mob comprising of youths, area/cult boys and other miscreants who were armed with dangerous weapons, stormed the police station and attempted to whisk away the woman who was already in police protective custody.
They fired sporadically into the police station, throwing stones, petrol bombs and other missiles to overawe the police and forcefully take away the woman whom they accused of kidnapping a yet to be identified person and dispense jungle judgement on her even when the accusation against her had not been established.
This Police resisted the attempt by the mob to raze down the police station, take the woman by force and cart away firearms and ammunition by using the tear gas. This had no effect on the surging youth brigands who were hell bent on completing the lynching action on the woman, burning down the station and killing policemen.
At this point, the DPO and his men were constrained to use their firearms as a matter of last resort and in line with Force Order 237 seeing that the tear gas applied could not dissuade the hoodlums from carrying out their unlawful intents.
In the ensuing melee, 8 of the hoodlums were arrested while others escaped. One locally made pistol with one unexpended/expended cartridges, cutlasses, 15 litres of Premium Motorola Spirit, dagger, charms and weeds suspected to be Indian hemp were recovered from the suspects. Furthermore, during the mop up of the areas, one of the hoodlums, who wore a red shirt with an inscription "Emma bullet", later identified as Emmanuel Chukwu 'm', found with gunshot injury which he sustained during the fracas, was rescued and rushed to the Mainland General Hospital where he was confirmed dead. Corpse was thereafter deposited at the hospital's Morgue for preservation and autopsy.
Sequel to the above , the Commissioner of Police Lagos State has ordered the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department to carry out a full scale investigation into the matter and come up with a detailed report .
SP Chike Oti
Police Public Relations Officer
Lagos State.