Trigger happy cop caused Lagos-Ibadan expressway gridlock- police

The road is now free after the tanker drivers agreed to leave

A trigger happy policeman was the main cause of the total blockage of the ever busy Lagos- Ibadan Expressway on Thursday, the police have said.

Petroleum tanker drivers, for over 12 hours, blocked the busy expressway causing huge traffic.

The drivers blocked the Ogere end of the expressway at about 11p.m. on Wednesday night, and continued till Thursday morning.

The grouse of the protesting drivers was an allegation that some policemen shot at the tyres of a loaded tanker with registration number JIGAWA XC 405 DUT.

A policeman did it

The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, while confirming the incident said that a policeman, in transit, attached to a VIP shot at the tyres of the fuel-loaded tanker.

“We understand that a policeman attached to a VIP shot at tyres of a fuel tanker, as I speak to you I can tell you authoritatively that the policeman is not from Ogun Command,” he said.

Mr. Adejobi said other drivers blocked the road to show solidarity with their colleague. He said the police, led by the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Mohammed Abdulkadir, swung into action immediately.

‘’We engaged them in negotiations and they have agreed to take their tankers off the road,” he said.

The tanker drivers heeded to the intervention and have vacated the road, causing traffic to gradually return to normal.

Some passengers, who were stuck for several hours, as a result of the tanker drivers’ protest, appealed to the government to prevent such from happening in future.

There had been similar incidents in the past involving the tanker divers plying the road, one of the busiest inter-state roads in Nigeria.