A police patrol van was, on Sunday morning, set ablaze by an angry mob,
while some policemen were injured, as hoodlums protested the death of a
commercial motorcyclist at Awoyaya area of Ajah, Lagos State.
The mob was reportedly angered by the death of the commercial
motorcyclist and his two passengers, when they were being chased by policemen
enforcing the state traffic law.
It was gathered that a team of
policemen had attempted to impound a motorcycle when the accident occurred.
The rider, in an attempt to escape from the policemen, swerved and ran
into a Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) bus, which crushed occupants of the motorcycle.
A resident of Awoyaya, who simply identified himself as Femi, told the
Nigerian Tribune that “some policemen were chasing an okada man on Lekki-Epe
Expressway when the accident happened.”
He added that “the okada man, in the process, ran into a BRT bus and the
three riders were killed immediately, but the policemen did not wait to
attend to them, as they ran away from the scene.”
Crowd, mostly youths, stormed the area and were still discussing the
incident when another team of policemen in patrol vans raced to the area.
A serious clash ensued between the policemen and the irate mob, which
forced the policemen to retreat before their vehicles were set ablaze
The image maker in charge of the state police command, Ngozi Braide,
confirmed the incident, but claimed that the only van that was burnt was an
escort vehicle that belonged to an individual.
She also described the incident as “a disturbance of public peace,”
adding that anti-riot policemen had been drafted to the scene and normalcy had
been restored.
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Society