Mob shut Tin Can Island port

A mob on Monday paralysed all economic activities at the Tin Can Island Port, Lagos , following an accident by a  hit and run driver, which resulted in the instant death of a woman, who is a port operator.
The early morning incident, according to eyewitnesses occurred after a trailer which took one-way traffic in the port’s access road was attempting to escape arrest by law enforcement agents.
“None of us was able to take the number plate of the trailer. We were all interested in the condition of the woman. Unfortunately, she died, before anyone could lift a finger” indicated an eye witness, who pleaded for anonymity.
The death of the victim, who the Nigerian Tribune learnt, was ‘a port operator’, especially one of those people who engage in illegal hawking of items around the port’s gate however ignited pandemonium as a crowd, consisting mostly of  her colleagues took the opportunity to create bonfires, even as the more violent ones allegedly threatened to burn down the port.
The eyewitnesses also confirmed that, but for the timely intervention of the anti-riot policemen, the indicated threat would probably have been carried out.
“There would have been real trouble for the port, but for the timely intervention of the combined team of the ordinary policemen, anti- riot policemen, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority (LASTMA) and Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC), who came in large numbers to restore sanity,” indicated an eyewitness who simply gave his name as Nnamdi Okafor, stressing that a group of hoodlums almost cashed  in on the development to rob innocent passersby of their phones and other valuables, before sanity was finally restored.
Confirming the incident, spokesman for the port, Mr  Ola Adesanya said while the port genuinely sympathised with the deceased and his colleagues, the management was however not convinced that the best reaction was to vent their anger on the port, stressing that the offending trailer had nothing to do with the port.
“It was not a Nigerian Port Authority (NPA) vehicle. It was not carrying any container at the time the driver was taking one-way. As a matter of fact, it practically had nothing to do with port, other than that it was within the port area. So why would the port bear the brunt of such violent reaction?” he asked, praising the law enforcement agents, for their timely responses.
When the Nigerian Tribune arrived at the scene, it also observed smoldering bon-fires being put off by some policemen and NPA security officers, while most of those who had arrived the port for normal businesses were seen, hurriedly departing the port areas, in fear that trouble might not be finally fully averted.