Tragedy struck on Thursday in the Oke Ilewo area of Abeokuta when a bullion van, belonging to one of the new generation banks, crushed a 22-year-old man, Gbenga Okesola, to death.
The van, according to an eyewitness, hit the victim, who was riding a motorcycle around the OPIC Roundabout and dragged the motorcyclist for a few metres before the vehicle stopped.
The spy policemen escorting the van were said to have dragged the victim, who was still breathing from under the van and dropped him by the roadside, and the vehicle zoomed off.
This was said to have angered other commercial motorcyclists popular known as okada riders, who had their park at the Roundabout, and they resorted to violent protest, attacking law enforcement agents and passers-by.
A detachment of regular and riot policemen was later deployed in the scene, which led to a face-off between them and the protesters, who hauled stones, bottles and other missiles at them.
The policemen had to fire teargas canisters to disperse them. Doors of eateries, commercial banks and shops in the area were hurriedly shut, as residents, who were caught in the pandemonium, ran for dear lives.
The victim, who was a carpentry apprentice, was said to be on his way to the computer village in the area to buy a memory card, when the sad incident occurred.
An eyewitness, Modinat Salman, said the victim could have been alive, if he had been rushed to a nearby hospital.
She said, “I saw everything when it happened. The bullion van hit the man and it ran over him, dragging him on the road for some distance.
“But the police escort, following the van, merely pulled him out from under the vehicle and dumped him near the walkway, and left. They could have rushed him to the hospital, because he was still breathing. But suddenly more policemen came and started firing tear gas canisters at everybody.”
The crisis lasted for over three hours before normalcy was restored.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident.
He said the bullion van belonged to one of the new generation banks in the state and was driven a supernumerary policeman, popularly known as spy, trained by the bank to move cash from one point to the other.
The van, according to an eyewitness, hit the victim, who was riding a motorcycle around the OPIC Roundabout and dragged the motorcyclist for a few metres before the vehicle stopped.
The spy policemen escorting the van were said to have dragged the victim, who was still breathing from under the van and dropped him by the roadside, and the vehicle zoomed off.
This was said to have angered other commercial motorcyclists popular known as okada riders, who had their park at the Roundabout, and they resorted to violent protest, attacking law enforcement agents and passers-by.
A detachment of regular and riot policemen was later deployed in the scene, which led to a face-off between them and the protesters, who hauled stones, bottles and other missiles at them.
The policemen had to fire teargas canisters to disperse them. Doors of eateries, commercial banks and shops in the area were hurriedly shut, as residents, who were caught in the pandemonium, ran for dear lives.
The victim, who was a carpentry apprentice, was said to be on his way to the computer village in the area to buy a memory card, when the sad incident occurred.
An eyewitness, Modinat Salman, said the victim could have been alive, if he had been rushed to a nearby hospital.
She said, “I saw everything when it happened. The bullion van hit the man and it ran over him, dragging him on the road for some distance.
“But the police escort, following the van, merely pulled him out from under the vehicle and dumped him near the walkway, and left. They could have rushed him to the hospital, because he was still breathing. But suddenly more policemen came and started firing tear gas canisters at everybody.”
The crisis lasted for over three hours before normalcy was restored.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Olumuyiwa Adejobi, confirmed the incident.
He said the bullion van belonged to one of the new generation banks in the state and was driven a supernumerary policeman, popularly known as spy, trained by the bank to move cash from one point to the other.
No comments:
Post a Comment