Stanley Ihedigbo
Personnel of the Nigerian Air Force
have been accused of killing three people and arresting over 20 youths at the
Isheri/Idimu area of Lagos State.
The air force men were alleged to
have stormed the community following the death of their colleague. It was
gathered that one of the youths in the community stabbed the air force man to
death while they were fighting. The boy allegedly plunged a broken bottle into
the chest of the officer. The officer didn’t survive. Since the day Friday that
the incident started, gunshots have rocked the community for two days.
The youth was among those that
allegedly obstructed the movement of the deceased and some of his colleagues on
Friday. They boys did not only obstruct the air force men vehicle, but
repeatedly banged on the body of the vehicle.
A resident, who witnessed the
altercation between the air force and some youths in the community, said: “When
those boys started hitting the Air Force officers’ vehicle, the men were forced
to alight form the van to challenge them. The boys and the men started arguing
and soon were fighting.”
He continued: “Before we knew what
was happening, one of the officers had been stabbed. One of the boys grabbed a
bottle, smashed it and stabbed it on the officer’s chest and ran away. Other
officers quickly rushed their wounded colleague to the hospital, where he
died.”
He said that the death of the Air
Force officer in the hospital angered his colleagues, who returned to the
community on a reprisal.
He said: “The incident happened on
Friday, but by Saturday and Sunday, the air force men besieged the community.
They came like mad dogs; they pounced on anyone they sighted. They started
arresting people, bundling them into their van.
“They threatened there wouldn’t be
peace in the community unless the boys, who fought with them and the one that
killed their colleague were provided. When they returned on Sunday, everyone
scampered for safety. People sustained injuries as they ran in different
directions. Many innocent people were arrested.”
Another eyewitness, Kenneth, said
that one of the people killed by the officers was a gas seller, identified as
Idowu.
Kenneth said: “It will be long
before peace returns to this community judging by the manner these air force
men had been terrorizing our community since Friday. Do you know that some
policemen from Idimu Police Station, who came to restore peace and order, were
attacked by the air force men?”
Kenneth opined that the situation
would have continued, but for a strange phone received by the senior air force officer
that led the other personnel into the community.
He explained: “When the whole
trouble started, some of us went into hiding. It was from where I was hiding
that I heard they had gone to the Oba’s palace. I heard that the Oba begged and
promised to fish out the boy that stabbed their colleague to death. But they
refused; they said they would only leave after the killer was in their custody.
But later in the day, the Oba was able to calm them. They left, but left with
20 youths in their custody.”
Another resident, Madam Chioma,
said: “I got to know about the trouble on Sunday. I didn’t know anything had
been going. I’m a nurse; I usually leave home in the morning, to return at
night. On that Sunday, I had visitors. My sister-in-law’s children came to
visit my son who was sick. Some minutes after they left, to return to their
home, they ran back to my house. They looked frightened and banged on my door
with fear, shouting that I should quickly open the door.
“When they came in, I asked what was
going on, they said that they people running, and had to run back to my house. I
later learnt that there had been trouble in the area since weekend. I was told
that some boys attacked and killed air force personnel. Other air force men
returned to the community to avenge the death of their colleague. The trouble
started on Friday, but by that Sunday, the air force men had killed three
people. Right now, we are all living in fear.”
Mr. Ike, a tailor, said that
since Saturday, he had not opened his shop because of the rampaging air force
men. “They are not only chasing youth men and arresting them, they had also
been harassing shop owners,” said Ike.
Ike further said: “My brother,
anyone killed by these air force men is gone! They are on a revenge mission. There
has been tension and fear in the community. We are begging the state government
to come and intervene, before more people are killed.
“There are also many bad boys in
this community. I hope this problem will later cause peace to reign. We hope
those bad boys that inhabit this community would leave. There are many bad boys
in this community and they had been disturbing residents and shop owners for
long. If police arrest them today, tomorrow their parents would bail them. They
smoke Indian hemp and inhale suspicious substances.”
It was also learn that some of the
policemen deployed from Area M Police Command to maintain peace in the community
were attacked by the air force men.
The Onidimu of Idimu, Oba Azeez
Adewale Dada, refused to comment on the development. He told our correspondent
that the Idimu/ Egbe Development Council Area Chairman have invited the
Nigerian Air Force and the police for a meeting on Thursday.
The Lagos State Police Public
Relations Officer (PPRO), Bala Elkana, denied that anyone was killed. He said
that it was purely a military raid.
Elkana added: “I can tell you that six
suspects were arrested by the military and handed over to the police for
investigation.”
Air Force spokesman, Air Commodore
Ibikunle Daramole, when contacted via text message and later through a phone
call, didn’t bother to respond to the text and when he eventually picked his
phone call and was giving detail of the incident, refused to comment.
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