Monday, April 29, 2013

Scores injured as police, drivers clash in Ekiti

There was confusion in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital at the weekend, as members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) engaged some policemen in a violent clash allegedly over transport fare.
The confusion started at Ajilosun area and spread to Ijigbo, one of the most densely populated areas of the Ado Ekiti metropolis.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that trouble started when a policeman allegedly declined to pay transport fare for a trip to Akure from Ado Ekiti, an act which led to hot arguments that led to fisticuffs between them.
Eyewitness told the Nigerian Tribune that  passersby and commuters, as well as traders  in  the rented locked-up shops around the area and those who displayed their wares at the popular Fayose Market, hurriedly closed their shops and scamper for safety, as sporadic gunshots being fired by the cops rented the air  and caused serious panic.
The source revealed that as the police were firing the shot, the commercial drivers were also replying with dangerous missiles like stones, broken bottles and iron rods, just as they brandished cutlasses and axes  to confront the police.
Several people, old and young, sustained serious bodily injuries in the ensuing melee.  Motorists  going towards  Ijigbo  from the  popular Old garage side had to make a detour  at Irona and escaped through the GRA side to prevent being caught in the web, while those coming from Ajilosun towards Ijigbo also passed through Moferere  to Agric side  at Odo Ado, owing to the panic the sound of the gunshots have caused.
The issued caused  brief  traffic snarl  along Ado-Akure road, as these visibly enraged drivers, who later converged on  their office in Ajilosun, had  made bonfires, describing the police action as flagrant  abuse of firearms.
It was gathered  that  the violence erupted,  following  the  decline of  a  policeman, who boarded a bus  from Akure  to  Ado Ekiti  to pay the N300 transport fare, but the driver of the 18-passenger bus had stood his ground  that he must pay, thus culminating in serious argument and exchange of fisticuffs between the duo.
The policeman, who was said to be armed, had fired a shot at the  bus and shattered the rare glass, which had attracted some other drivers from nearby, who  joined their colleague to beat up the policeman.
After they were separated, the policeman was said to have reported the case to his colleagues, who were said to have mobilised to  the drivers’ motorpark located in Ajilosun  and started shooting sporadically.
The drivers and commuters in the park were said to have fled into the bush in different directions, as the police stormed the park in a commando-like style and dealt with some drivers that were not fortunate to escape.
The drivers were said to have  boasted that they would continue to attack any police found on the streets of Ado Ekiti, just as they threatened  that  they would only give the governor, Dr Kayode Fayemi, the audience to mediate in the matter.
But later in the evening, the Special Assistant on Internal Security to the Governor, Mr Deji Adesokan, was said to have visited the park and pleaded with the drivers to sheathe their swords and allow peace to reign.
Efforts  made to reach out to the NURTW chairman in Ekiti State, Chief Julius Jegede, to confirm the incident proved futile, as all mobile phones were switched off.
But the Public Relations Officer of the Ekiti State Police Command, Mr Victor Babayemi, who confirmed the incident, said police was still investigating the root cause of the matter.
Babayemi  added that “ the command is aware of the incident, but the cause of the matter is still sketchy. We are going to give you the full detail as soon as we conclude our investigation.”
TRIBUNE

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