An Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) attached to the Area M Command has been lynched by a mob on Saturday for allegedly shooting a pregnant tailor dead.
During the incident which occurred at Agbole area of Ijegun in Egbe-Idimu Local Council Development Area (LCDA), it was gathered that two other policemen sustained injuries and ran to the Palace of the Ijegun monarch at Ologun for safety.
Trouble was said to have started after stray bullet fired by the cops who were chasing suspected kidnappers hit the woman identified as Biliki in her shop.
She was said to have been rushed to the hospital but died shortly after she was taken to the clinic.
Her death, it was gathered sparked outrage in the neighbourhood as residents wondered why the police team would open fire at the place with so many defenless civilians going about their lawful businesses.
According to one Damilare Olarenwaju the policemen fired shot at a roundabout where there were a lot of people.
He said: “How can policemen fire shot at a roundabout, on a Saturday close to festive period in Ijegun?
The Nation gathered that angry youths in the area had blocked the road to the Oba’s palace, while anti-riot policemen have been drafted there to restore normalcy.
“The road in front of the king’s palace is impassable at the moment. Vehicular movements have been diverted into a nearby street to access Ijegun bus stop.
“The information I gathered is that the policemen from Area M fired gunshots while chasing suspected criminal and the bullet killed a woman. Youths in the area killed him and injured his colleagues. One of them managed to crawl to the Oba’s palace,” said a resident.
Contacted, police spokesman Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent (DSP) confirmed the death of the ASP, adding that efforts were on to restore peace in the area.
“I cannot tell you what really happened at the moment but it is true that we lost an ASP and two order ranks were injured. They are of the Anti-kidnapping unit attached to Area M.
“Reinforcement has been deployed to the area for the restoration of peace. Let us first calm the situation before we can talk of what happened,” he said.
•Source: The Nation