Oluseye Ojo, Ibadan
Two policemen attached to Gbagi Police Station in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital, were on Thursday sent to their early graves by protesters in Ibadan, who set roasted them with fire at Abayomi area, which is about 500 metres to the popular Iwo Road Interchange.
The protesters had few minutes before killing the two policemen burnt the vehicle that conveyed the policemen at Iwo Road Under Bridge. The vehicle was said to have been abandoned by the policemen when the irate youths gave them a hot chase.
Pandemonium was said to have erupted when the vehicle that conveyed three policemen purportedly knocked down young commercial motorcyclist at a spot on Ibadan-Ife Expressway with their vehicle and the young man was said to have died. Sources said the policemen fled the spot but the youths chased them to Iwo Road Under Bridge. The policemen, having abandoned the vehicle, reportedly ran away and found ways to change to mufti.
The aggrieved youth were said to have protested the killing of the young commercial motorcyclist to Agodi Area Command of the Nigeria Police Force, Testing Ground, Idi-Ape in Ibadan. But on their way, they were said to have sighted two persons that some of the protesters identified as policemen in the abandoned vehicle in mufti and set them ablaze.
On getting to Testing Ground, the protesters were said to have attempted to burn the police facility, but for the timely intervention of a joint security taskforce of the state, Operation Burst that prevented them from doing so. Still the youths did not vacate the road in front of the Agodi Area Command, until Governor Seyi Makinde, visited the scenes, addressed the protesters and doused the tension.
Makinde appealed passionately to the tensed-looking protesters to sheathe the sword and stop attacking policemen and public property. He, however, assured the protesters that he would meet the Commissioner of Police in the state, Nwackukwu Enwonwu, on the death of the young commercial motorcyclist.
Report received from Iseyin in Oke-Ogun area of Oyo State indicated that the only police station in the town was set ablaze on Thursday, apart from razing a mosque, and looting of the Area Office of the Nigeria Customs Service in the town.
The Police Public Relations Officer for the state, Olugbenga Fadeyi, could not be reached on his mobile phone at the time of filing this report, as he did not pick any of the calls made to his mobile phone.