Policemen attached to the Iponri Divisional Police Station have reportedly been attacked by hoodlums suspected to be motorcycle riders in the Ijora Olopa area of Lagos State.
According to the state public relations officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, the policemen went to the area to implement the restriction order on Okada riders by the Lagos State government when they were attacked.
He said: “The policemen went to the area to implement the Okada restriction order law by the Lagos State government when the policemen were attacked, and some of the riders have been arrested, and normalcy has been restored at the scene. One officer died while another was seriously wounded.”
Meanwhile, a source in the area who spoke with News Telegraph on the phone said the incident happened around 10 a.m. when the policemen came to the area to impound some Okada riders who flouted the restriction order by the State government when they were attacked by the hoodlums.
The hoodlums were said to have been armed with dangerous weapons, such as cutlasses, clubs, and charms. They attacked the policemen and also tried to burn the operation van of the policemen, but they were prevented by the police response team of the Rapid Response Squad and other policemen from the divisions deployed to the scene to prevent further breakdown of law and order in the area.
“Two Policemen were seriously injured in the clash, and some of the riders too were injured as some of their bikes were taken away by the Policemen who came to assist the Iponri Divisional Police Station men.
“It was a serious situation in the morning as everyone ran helter-skelter in the area. Several Policemen sustained varying degrees of injuries in the clash, as some of the policemen’s uniforms were torn during the clash. Thank God, no life was lost.
“I want to appeal to the policemen to have human faces whenever they are carrying out their operation because the situation of the country is tense as a result of the economic situation of the country.
“I was coming out when I saw people running, and immediately I left my shop and ran to a safe place to avoid being hit by a stray bullet from the police because they were shooting sporadically; they don’t care about the innocent people. Thank God nobody died in the clash, except the policemen and some of the Okada riders who sustained injuries.”
