Friday 12 April 2013

Army, Police clash again in Ibadan


Hell was let loose on Thursday afternoon in Ibadan as the Mokola axis at the centre of the ancient city was thrown into confusion as a result of a clash between men of the Nigerian Police Force and those of the Nigeria Army.

Eye witness accounts that the trouble was an offshoot of an event that occurred on Wednesday evening. A man on a bike was shot in the leg for allegedly assaulting a police woman during a stop and search operation. Incidentally, the two men on the bike, one of who was shot are serving soldiers. The other man was reportedly arrested. The arrested soldier was reportedly taken to the police station in handcuffs and detained and had his clothes removed.

The situation became tense on Thursday when about 6 armed soldiers who had apparently heard of their colleague’s predicament stormed the Mokola police station around 3.30 pm and  “not long after the soldiers entered the station’s premises, the first shot was heard. By the time they fired the second shot, there was confusion everywhere. We just saw policemen running out of the station in all directions. Some ran across the road to the other side. And you know when policemen start running, it means no one is safe”. Though no live was lost but the soldiers who stormed the station on a revenge mission gave some officers the beating of their lives.

Spokesperson of the Police Force in Oyo State, Olabisi Ilobanafor who confirmed the incident revealed that the policewoman who was in mufti at the time was hit by the men on a bike and an altercation ensued after she protested. She said when the soldiers assaulted her she made a distress call which drew three policemen to the scene. The soldiers were invited to the station but instead of complying, one of them drew a knife and stabbed a policeman. The stabbing led to the firing of a warning shot which injured one of the men on the bike. She disclosed that the matter has been resolved by using a family approach.

No comments:

Post a Comment