Men suspected to be soldiers from 424 Army Barracks, Ibereko, Badagry, Lagos, on Tuesday ambushed a police vehicle on the Adaragun end of the Lagos-Badagry Expressway and killed the Divisional Police Officer of Badagry Police Division and the station's Divisional Crime Officer.

The death of the DPO, whose name was given as Salihu Samuel and his yet-to-be-identified DCO was believed to be a reprisal for the killing of a soldier attached to 424 Army Barracks, who was allegedly shot by a policeman from the Badagry station on Sunday.

PUNCH METRO gathered that another policeman, who escaped from the scene died before he could get help, while the fourth one was also said to be receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.

There are two different versions of the death of the policemen. One said the DPO was called by an unidentified person in the barracks and was asked to come for a peace meeting so that the tension that was generated by the death of the soldier could be doused.

The other report had it that some people had intercepted the police radio frequency and announced that three policemen had been shot on the expressway and were critically injured. It was learnt that the DPO and the DCO, who were in their uniforms, subsequently went to the supposed scene to find out the situation of things.

PUNCH METRO gathered that when the police vehicle got to the expressway by 11.30 am, some men in mufti forced the vehicle to a halt, dragged the DPO and the DCO out of the vehicle and opened fire on them.

An eyewitness, who spoke with our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, said after the senior police officers were killed, the attackers also used a machete to mutilate the DCO's corpse.

He said, "It was terrible. People were watching and the soldiers just ignored us and went on with their killings. Two other policemen were shot apart from the DPO and the DCO.

"We learnt that one of them died before he could reach hospital, while the other policeman has been admitted in a hospital. Of course, the men were soldiers; they might be in mufti, but we all know them."

As at 4.00 pm the body of the DPO and the DCO were still lying on the road. A senior police officer attached to the state police command confided in our correspondent that policemen posted to Badagry had abandoned their duty posts, while those who reside in the area had temporarily relocated.

"That is why there was nobody to carry the corpses and there were fears that since the place where the DPO and the DCO were killed was not far from the Army Barracks, any policeman that tried to evacuate the bodies might be shot at or killed,"he said.

Another senior police official told our correspondent that the Assistant Inspector General of Police in charge of Zone 2, Mr. Sulaiman Fakai, and the Deputy Commissioner of Police, Operations, Mr. Lateef Junaid, were already on their way to the scene as at 2pm.

"The commissioner of police is on the entourage of President Goodluck Jonathan, who is in Lagos. That is why he could not go to Badagry," the officer said.

But a source at the barracks told our correspondent that those who carried out the evil act were dissidents. He said the authorities did not have anything to do with it. "The policemen should have been expecting the attack and prevent it. You don't expect the killing of a soldier to go like that," he said.

Telephone calls to Army spokesman, Maj. Olaolu Daodu, did not go through because his phone was switched off. Text Messages to the phone were also not replied as at the time of going to the press.

The spokesman of the state police command, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, confirmed the killings. He added that the police and the military authorities were resolving the issue.

There has been tension in the area since Sunday when a policeman allegedly killed a soldier during an argument at a checkpoint.

Meanwhile, the Inspector-General of Police, Mr. Hafiz Ringim, has appealed to the police and soldiers to sheathe their swords.

Ringim said continuous hostilities would undermine the cordial relationship between the two sister services.

A statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, Olusola Amore, in Abuja on Tuesday, said the IG had ordered an investigation into the case, adding that those involved in the act would be identified, arrested and prosecuted.