Commissioner of police in Lagos Hakeem Odumosu on Monday ordered investigation into an attempt by youths to set ablaze the Oke-Odo Police Station in Ile-Epo area after a commercial motorcyclist was allegedly killed in the area.
Policemen from the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) and the taskforce unit intervened and prevented the youths from burning down the station.
A commercial motorcyclist, who simply gave his name as Musa, accused the police of conniving with a truck driver who killed a motorcyclist.
“We thought the police would arrest the man but the next thing we heard was that he had been released. This is sad, we are tired of the policemen here,” he told NAN.
A trader Chukwuemeka Okafor said policemen attached to Oke-Odo Police Division allegedly killed a man which resulted in the crisis.
“Policemen killed someone yesterday, Sunday, May 23. This made the people around to get angry and decided to take their grievances to the Oke-Odo Police Station.
“Some of the protesters tried burning the police station before more policemen arrived to save the situation.” he said.
However, Adedamola Adeola, a resident of the area, said it was a moving truck that killed a commercial motorcyclist after which other motorcyclists held the truck driver hostage.
“The police allegedly came and released the truck driver. This angered the motorcyclists and they moved to the police station with the intention of burning it down.” he said.
Lagos police spokesman Olumuyiwa Adejobi said in a statement that normalcy had been restored to the area.
He said, “Disregard the fake news. Policemen are now at lle Epo Area of the state to restore normalcy and maintain peace.
“The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
“The command wishes to debunk the rumour that lle Epo Police Station was set ablaze by some hoodlums. This news is false and should be disregarded.
“The command will give details of the incident to the public as soon as possible.”
