Two killed in police, motorcyclists’ clash

There was palpable fear in Festac town, Lagos on Wednesday as two
motorcyclists were reportedly killed by policemen.
The police were said to have gone to the community for a raid about midnight.
A witness said a combined team of policemen attached to the Lagos
State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences Unit, the Rapid
Response Squad (RRS) and Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) from the
Area ‘E’ Command stormed 7th Avenue, Festac, where the motorcyclists
were sleeping and rounded them up about midnight.
The police also impounded hundreds of motorcycles.
During the raid, the motorcyclists reportedly threw bottles and stones
at the policemen.
The policemen were said to have retaliated by opening fire on the
motorcyclists. One of the motorcyclists was shot in the head while
bullets hit the second one in the leg. They both died later at a
private hospital.
The victims were identified as Emmanuel Omofula an indigene of Cross
River State and Audu Michika from Adamawa State.
A resident of the area, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the
motorcyclists had constituted nuisance at Festac.
He said: “We don’t want them. Police should send them away. Most of
these motorcycle riders were mostly from Adamawa, Borno and other
parts of the North. On a slight provocation, they would bring out
knife and threaten to kill whoever that has an issue with them.
“Recently, one of the motorcyclists killed a policeman and took his
rifle away at Alakija area. The policeman wanted to impound his
motorcycle.
“I saw the heavy presence of policemen in Festac raiding the
motorcyclists and I felt relieved.”
But one of the motorcyclists, Ibrahim Abubakar, said the police had
impounded several motorcycles.
He said: “We were sleeping outside the entrance of an estate on 7th
Avenue, when the policemen came and rounded us up.
“We all ran to Lagos State because of the Boko Haram crisis ravaging
our states. Some of us have lost our family members to the war. We
believe the place where they would accommodate us is Lagos. The state
government should allow us to ply the inner routes we are already
plying.
Another rider, who simply identified himself as Gabriel, said: “We are
helpless. We were sleeping when the policemen came to arrest us.”
When contacted, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP
Patricia Amadin, said motorcycles were impounded while 25 persons were
arrested.
She said: “The report of the motorcyclists operating without
registration number in the area got to the state Commissioner of
Police, Fatai Owoseni, who ordered a clamp down on them, after given
them warning.
“When policemen went to impound motorcycles, the cyclists attacked
them. They threw bottles and stones at our officers. Some of them
sustained injuries in the process.”