A police officer, Lawrence Njoku, allegedly killed a 27-year-old man, on Thursday, causing a riot at the Adekunle Police Station on Herbert Macaulay Road, Yaba, on Friday. Two other men were also reportedly shot and are believed to be in a critical condition.

Ibrahim Olojede, the deceased, was said to be hanging out with two friends, Rotimi Philip and Friday Uti, when they were shot by the police.

Thousands of local residents took to the streets in Alagomeji where the incident occurred to barricade the local police station and demand justice.

For more than six hours, the mob clustered in front of the police post and shouted insults while the officers cowered in their offices. Officers, who had to leave the premises, were forced to change into mufti, and those who passed in buses received threats. Some were punched before they escaped.

The protest was still on when NEXT left the place at 2:10pm.

How it happened

An eyewitness, Bimbo Adeniji, said an officer she identified as Lawrence Njoku arrested her on Hughes Avenue, along with two other men, at about 9pm. As they were being taken to the station in a truck, the officers saw three men sitting on a fence on Olonode Street in Alagomeji and stopped.

“Those people (the victims) ran into a vehicle,” Mrs. Adeniji said. “They (officers) did not even talk to the guys at all. They just cocked the gun - boom, boom boom - two or three times. We were inside the police vehicle. Immediately, Lawrence Njoku, now called the DPO that something has happened here, that he met thieves on raiding.”

A resident in the area, Olaolu Lawal, said he was getting ready to sleep when he heard several gunshots. “I came out but I didn’t know where the sound came from. It was this morning that I heard that ‘Pawo’ (Mr. Olojede’s alias) was killed,” he said.

Police versus the people

As the situation intensified, the Lagos Deputy Commissioner of Police (Operations), L. A. Junaid, arrived at the station. He tried to calm the crowd, saying “We are very unhappy with what has happened, but we can’t say because there are a few bad men in the police, the entire police is bad. The police should be your friend. Only criminals should be police enemies.”

After that, he went into a meeting in the DPO’s office. He emerged over an hour later, with the victim’s father, Bashiru Olojede, and addressed the crowd again.

“We have come to an agreement with the father. We know you are all pained and you have every right to speak. I need you all to be patient. If you all had been fighting, it would have been bad.”

Mr. Olojede, who is in his early 70s, also spoke: “I have spoken to the state commissioner of police (Marvel Akpoyibo) on the phone. He assured me that all the grievances brought before him concerning the way Okada riders are treated will be addressed. He said this boy’s killer has been arrested and will be taken to court. He also said the wounded men will get the deserved treatment. I just beg all to accept what has happened and move on.”

He, however, declared to NEXT that both the whereabouts of his son’s remains and the identity of the killer were unknown to him as at 2pm. “He was my only child. His mother just died a few months ago. What will I do now?” He asked.

Mr. Uti’s sister, Blessing Uti, said the location of her brother was unclear. “They first took him to LUTH (Lagos University Teaching Hospital) where they said the bullet was too deep in his shoulder to reach,” she said. “The last time I heard from them, they were taking him to Lagos Island General Hospital.”

She said the victim had two children.

The police spokesperson, Frank Mba, described the situation as “unfortunate” and called for more training for the officers. “The details for now (of the case) are still sketchy but we’ve commenced investigation,” he said.

“The officer who allegedly pulled the trigger has been arrested. He has been transferred to the Homicide Department of the State CID, Panti. I don’t have the name of the suspect for now.”

As of the time of the report, the deceased’s relations were making plans to bury him according to Muslim rites.

http://www.234next.com/csp/cms/sites/Next/News/Metro/Crime/5466600-146/27_year_old_man_killed_by.csp

That is so sad. I hope that Njoku bastard gets hung.

sad

I hate the nigerian police more than anything in this world.they are the worst people on planet earth!

yes

@op, nothing shocking about it - its just business as usual - another day for the men in black