Police, okada riders clash in Lagos over death of colleague

A police patrol vehicle belonging to the Ipakodo Police Station was on Wednesday set ablaze by Operators of commercial motorcycle popularly known as Okada riders in retaliation of the death of one of their members allegedly caused by some policemen attached to the station.

The patrol vehicle was said to have been set ablaze in the early hours of Wednesday at Baale junction in Owode area of Ibeshe in Ikorodu.

It was gathered that the incident which led to the setting ablaze of the vehicle started last night when a patrol team from the division allegedly engaged one of the operators in a hot chase due to his failure to part with the sum of N100 demanded by the cops.

Findings revealed that it has been a usually practice of Policemen from Ipakodo Division to extort the Okada riders on daily basis at the junction once it is 9.00pm.

Following the refusal of the deceased to part with N100 requested by the cops, he was said to have been chased towards  Ibeshe road and eventually fell into a gutter with the motorcycle.

The deceased, whose name was yet to be ascertained as at the time , was said to have sustained fatal injury on his head and other parts of the body.

According to the source, the cops immediately absconded with their vehicle, abandoning the victim to groin in pains.

Subsequently, his colleaguees, as reliably leanrt immediately raised to the scene and rescued the victim to a nearby hospital for medical attention.

The victim was said to have died in the process.

Following the demise, his colleagues were said to have mobilised themseves, attacked the policemen and set the patrol van ablaze as soon as the cops arrived the scene this morning, unaware of the death of the victim.

The policemen, according to the source scampered for safety in different direction back to the station located on  NPA road, Ebute Ipakodo.

Aggrieved by the sad occurrence, the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the Command, Mohammed Ari was said to directed the Divisional Police Officer, CSP. Adigun Salami to match the affected Policemen to the command’s headquarter for necessary disciplinary action.

The police public relations officer SP. Chike Oti confirmed the incident via a press release.

Telling their own side of the story,  Oti said, ” The Lagos State Police Command notes with regret the unfortunate burning of a police patrol van stationed at a black spot in Ibeshe, Ipakodo area of Ikorodu, Lagos state  by irate motorcyclists popularly called okada riders on 30th May,  2018, at about 10.45am.

“The incident was occasioned by  an encounter between  policemen manning the black spot and an okada man plying the routes way beyond Lagos state  approved time  of 10pm.

“As he approached the police pin down point, the police team observed that he was carrying a passenger with a big bag  placed between him and the rider an so they flagged him down but instead of obeying the police hand signal, the okada man  increased his speed in order to evade police scrutiny.  Sadly,  he ended up in a ditch and passed on. Meanwhile his associate with the suspicious bag vanished into the  thin air.

“However,  on Wednesday at about 10am, Okada riders sympathetic to their late colleague,  mobilised in their thousands and attempted to burn the Ibeshe Police Post. They were resisted. So they moved and found a softer target which was a police van stationed at a known black spot in Ibeshe and set it ablaze.

“In view of this incident, the police authorities in Lagos state wishes to warn all those with the penchant to burn, destroy or loot its property/armoury, that henceforth the Command will be compelled to use all lawful means including the use of  firearms to protect such properties and defend its petsonnel.

“The police in Lagos will no longer standby and watch hoodlums destroy government property worth millions of Naira for whatever reason. Any group of persons with complaints  against the police action, must toe the civilised option of registering their complaints with the  police authorities for appropriate action.”

He also really that the Lagos Commissioner of Police,  CP Imohimi Edgal had directed that the 63 okada riders arrested for burning the police vehicle should be charge to court for arson.

He noted that Edgal had also directed the OC Legal to file a motion to a court of competent jurisdiction to surcharge the suspects for the purchase of another police patrol vehicle.