Fear has enveloped residents of Idi Araba and Mushin areas of Lagos State following a clash between some supposed commercial motorcyclists and operative of the Lagos State Police Command attached to the state’s Task Force.
According to eyewitnesses, the clash started between 10am and 11am on Tuesday, with the Task Force backed by operatives of Op MENSA.
The clash was said to have also grounded commercial activities, with shop owners hastily shutting down and commercial bus drivers refusing to ply the troubled routes.
It was unclear as at press time whether anyone was injured during the clash.
The Eagle Online gathered that trouble started in the morning hours when the policemen started arresting commercial cyclists who were reportedly not under the axis banned by the Lagos State Government.
Some of the cyclists, vexed by the arbitrary arrests, resisted and refused their motorcycles to be seized.
The situation soon snowballed, with the cyclist hurling stones at the policemen.
The police, perturbed that the situation might escalate further, sought the assistance of soldiers attached to OP MENSA on special duty along Adeniji Street.
An eyewitness, who did not want his name mentioned, narrated: “The Soldiers made two attempts to force the angry mob to retreat, but instead it was the Task Force and Soldiers who retreated.
“The soldiers went to Abalti Barracks and returned with more soldiers and guns.
“The policemen also started firing canisters of tear gas.”
A worried woman, who sent out a video, capturing the marauding cyclists, mentioned in the background of the video that she was at the premises of the Lagos University Teaching Hospital and did not know how she was going to drive out.
A concerned Twitter user: JJ@Jammboiy, said: “The riders went on the rampage, vandalise one or two vehicles, but I saw the Itire Police division heading towards the scene.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, also taking to his Twitter handle, tried to douse the gathering tension in the area.
Hundeyin tweeted: “Idiaraba is safe. Nothing to worry about. Just some lawless motorcycle operators trying to cause trouble after their motorcycles were impounded. Our men are fully on the ground. CP Abiodun Alabi personally coordinated our response.
“They can’t fight because Taskforce went well prepared. They were just causing a scene after the Taskforce left with some of their impounded motorcycles. @rrslagos767 and men from the Area Command have since been drafted there. Absolutely nothing to worry about.”
https://youtu.be/V-1v2_ptkww