By Christopher Oji and Merit Ibe
It was a disaster for terrified residents of 21 Road in Festac Town, Lagos on Wednesday afternoon as a female Civil Defence operative on the orders of her commander, summarily executed a boy at the AP filling Station on 21,Road ,FESTAC Town.
The boy was alleged to have bought fuel in a jerry can and was going home when he was accosted by a team of Civil Defence officials who arrested him.
Witnesses said he never resisted arrest, but rather was pleading and explaining to the NSCDC personnel that the fuel was for personal use as he was not a fuel hawker
The witness who pleaded annonymity said the boy, about 18-years-old had laid down on the road pleading with theNSCDC operatives to allow him go home as he was not a fuel hawker, but had just bought the fuel for personal use.
The witnesses said the Commander of the team who felt that the boy was resisting arrest,ordered a female official to shoot the”Bastard”,and the woman shot him.
On seeing the boy dying on the pool of his own blood, the NSCDC operatives jumped into their patrol van and sped off.
As at press time, men of Op Mesa and the Nigeria Police led by the FESTAC Police Station Divisional Police Officer(DPO) Mr Monday Agbonika were on ground ,making sure that the angry mob did not take laws into their hands.
The angry sympathisers had attempted to set the filling station and some petrol Tankers ablaze,but were prevented by the security operatives.
A senior Police officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the killing of the young boy was unwarranted”Why should they kill the boy.I think ,the Civil Defence corps don’t know when to use fire arms. They don’t even have regulation on fire arms usage”