Irate soldiers burn down police station in Ogun over colleague’s death

Soldiers said to be from Lagos State have burnt down a police divisional headquarters in Ogijo, a community on the boundary with Ogun State.

The incident, which happened on Wednesday, was said to be in reprisal against the alleged killing of a soldier by a police officer from the Ogijo police station.

The angry soldiers also razed a police patrol van and an Armoured Personnel Carrier in the attack on the police station.

How trouble started

The mobile police officer and a soldier were said to have had a minor disagreement in Odongunyan in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, which is a short distance from Ogijo.

The disagreement reportedly degenerated into the two law enforcement officers threatening to kill each other, but it was the police officer who first reached for his pistol and shot the soldier.

An eyewitness who refused to give his name over the sensitivity of the matter told PREMIUM TIMES that the soldier was pronounced dead at about 6 p.m.

Counter claims

In a post on Twitter, the Lagos State police spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, on Wednesday made reference to the incident.

“There are stories making the rounds that riots have broken out in Odonguyan, Ikorodu. We wish to clarify that the unrest is at Ogijo, Ogun State, though very close to Ikorodu, Lagos.

“Our officers are at alert and would not allow any breakdown of law and order within Lagos State.”

READ ALSO: Two dead after cult clash in Ondo

However, speaking the incident in a telephone conversation with this newspaper, the spokesperson of the police in Ogun State, Abimbola Oyeyemi, insisted that the crisis started in Odongunyan in Lagos State.

“Though the cause of disagreement between the police officer and the soldier is still sketchy as I speak with you now, the incident really happened in Odongunyan area of Ikorodu, in Lagos State and when the soldiers came for reprisal attack, they came to Ogun Police station, burnt station, armoured personnel carrier and patrol vehicle.

“The commandant of the barracks at Ikorodu had been contacted and he is looking into the matter,” Mr Oyeyemi said.