Tipper drivers protest alleged killing of colleague by security operatives in Edo

Tipper drivers association in Edo State, yesterday, protested the alleged killing of their colleague by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS).

The incident was said to have occurred in the morning along Ikpoba-slope road by the tipping-truck garage in Benin City, the State capital.

The now deceased driver was said to be in company of colleagues who had volunteered to control the early morning traffic on the road.

It was gathered that trouble began when some vehicles conveying DSS operatives drove against traffic in a bid to avoid traffic jam on the other lane of the dual-carriage way.

A witness simply identified as Osaghae said: “there was an hilux blarring siren and driving one way… On sighting the hilux, the tipper drivers controlling the traffic allowed the vehicle to move on because there were security operatives inside.

“After the hilux, one other Audi car drove behind; and the drivers controlling the traffic attempted to accost it to use the right way;  unknown to them that the car was also conveying plain-clothes operatives.

“And before a blink of eye, the DSS operatives opened fire which resulted in the death of a tipper driver.

“They (DSS) thereafter arrested three traffic control volunteers and also took the body of the deceased driver away.”

The development caused heavy gridlock in the Benin metropolis as other drivers protested the death of their colleague.

The operatives are yet to respond to inquiry over the incident.

However, a source in the DSS denied the allegation.

The source said the hoodlums got a tip off that the DSS operatives have arrested three of their men who are involved in kidnapping and decided to lay siege on them by the popular Tipper Garage by the Tenboga Junction to free them.

The source said the hoodlums, upon sighting the DSS operatives, pounced on them with guns and various dangerous weapons.

The DSS source said its operatives sustained vary degrees of injuries from the attack while their vehicles were also damaged

It was gathered that the female among them was almost raped by the hoodlums.

It was also learnt that the hoodlums engaged the operatives of the DSS in a fierce gun battle but they (hoodlums) succumbed to the superior powers of the DSS resulting to the death of one of the hoodlums.

The source said three of the suspected kidnappers were eventually arrested and are cooling off in their custody.

The DSS source said the operatives is poised to join hands with other of her sister agencies to make the state a crime free state for all.