One person has been reported killed during a clash between motorcyclists and policemen attached to the Lagos State Task Force on Environmental and Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit in the Agric area of Ikorodu Road on Friday.
It was gathered that the clash started with a shouting match between the policemen and the motorcyclists and later degenerated into the use of different weapons, including bottles, cutlasses and guns.
Eyewitnesses, who spoke, said there were continuous shootings, which sent shivers down the spines of residents and business owners operating along the Garage, Benson and Agric axis in Ikorodu.
While some residents said the victim was one of the motorcyclists, others described the death as unfortunate, saying he was not involved in the clash.
A resident, Tunde Rotimi, said the deceased was a motorcyclist.
He said, “The motorcyclists plying the Ikorodu Road were confronted by the task force team enforcing the ban on motorcyclists plying the expressway.
“Around 6pm on Friday, we saw the motorcyclists carrying different weapons and coming out from different angles, as if they had planned to act in that manner. Also, the policemen called for reinforcement.
“Before the clash happened, some operatives had chased away people selling by the roadside, and almost immediately, the clash between the motorcyclists and the task force started.
“It was more like a riot. Men of the task force chased the motorcyclists towards the Agric area, from where other motorcyclists threw bottles in the direction of the police, until they chased them back to the Benson area. In the process, one of the motorcyclists was killed.”
Another resident, Chinedu Okafor, said the victim was not involved in the clash, adding that he was killed by a stray bullet from men of the task force.
“The person died around Agric. Commuters had to disembark from buses and run for safety. The task force men shot to scare away the motorcyclists when the person got hit by a stray bullet,” he said.
A spokesperson for the task force, Taofiq Adebayo, said officials of the agency never embarked on any enforcement on the day the incident occurred.
Adebayo said, “We have a lot of enforcement teams impersonating the task force; we did not go out for any enforcement on that day. For the fact that people saw policemen does not mean the policemen are from the task force.
“Generally, when people see policemen engaging motorcyclists, they believe that they are from the task force and our men are always in sleeveless jackets with a bold inscription showing Lagos Task Force whenever we are on enforcement.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said, “We are not aware of any killing for now. However, I will find out and get back to you.”
