Soldiers kill two civilians, injure police, colleague

Soldiers, who had been stationed at 7^th Avenue Festac, Lagos State, fighting pipeline vandals since Monday, yesterday, killed two civilians and injured two policemen, plus a soldier. The shooting spree happened moment after the soldiers received messages to be at alert that robbers had attempted to rob Guaranty Trust Bank (GTB), along 23th Avenue and that another set had attacked banks at Agbara, Ogun State.
Following the clash with vandals on Monday, the soldiers had placed a barrier on the road; the barrier was to show that the area was a high security risk area and drivers were expected to slow down.
The victims of yesterday shooting however refused to slow down at the barrier even after the soldiers repeatedly ordered them to stop.
Thinking they were criminals, the soldiers started shooting sporadically. When the smoke from the guns cleared, two civilians had been killed, two policemen and a soldier wounded. The incident occurred around 10:30pm.
The civilian driver died instantly and a stray bullet killed another civilian who was eating Indomie noodles not far from the scene. 
Two policemen were seriously injured. One was shot in the buttock and another on the knee. The soldiers so sprayed bullets that expended hundreds of ammunition littered the ground.  The body of two police vehicles were shattered and perforated with bullets.
One of the bullets bounced off a police van and hit one of the soldiers on the chest. The wounded were rushed to a nearby hospital, but rejected. They were referred to Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Arab Mushin.
A police source said: “A team of surveillance men were on patrol. They sighted a Honda saloon car. They thought the driver was a yahooyahoo guy. The policemen were in a commercial bus as against the instruction of the Inspector General of Police (IGP). The policemen flagged the Honda driver down, but he refused to heed. The policemen started chasing him, up to 7^th Avenue. This avenue was where the joint team of soldiers and policemen were stationed. There was a barrier on the road to slow down vehicles. The Honda driver and the policemen in commercial bus refused to stop.”

It was further gathered that the Honda driver apparently drove towards the soldiers, thinking they would protect him from people in the commercial bus that were chasing him. When the Honda driver and commercial bus refused to stop, the soldiers opened fire. Ironically, the driver of the Honda was didn't sustain any injury. But his car was perforated with bullet holes.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Joe Offor, confirmed the incident, describing it as an act of omission rather than commission.
His words: "At FESTAC Town today, a man was attacked after he had withdrawn money from a commercial bank. As he was leaving the bank with the money, two men on bikes accosted him and made away with the money.
"Some sympathisers alerted the police at FESTAC Division. By the time the police got there, the robbers had fled. Somehow, some mischievous guys in the area saw a moving Honda Accord and started shouting that he was the thief. Meanwhile, the driver of the Honda did not know he was the one they were talking about and was still moving at his own pace. When he got to the checkpoint mounted by the soldiers, who were stationed along 7th Avenue because of pipeline vandals, he made to drive through. But the soldiers, thinking that the driver was truly a robber, trying to escape, opened fire. The bullet hit two of our men and the civilian. Contrary to rumours making the rounds, our men didn't die. They were injured and they are currently receiving treatment at the hospital."