Policemen on illegal duty kill foreigner,
flee
2013-04-11 23:55:31
There was confusion at Daleko Bus Stop
along the Mushin-Isolo Expressway, Lagos,
on Thursday after some men suspected to
be policemen killed a foreigner in the traffic.
According to an eyewitness, the policemen,
who boarded a commercial bus, shot the
victim, Santos Korie, in his Toyota Highlander
Sport Utility Vehicle before fleeing.
A traffic official, who spoke to our
correspondent on the condition of
anonymity, said the incident occurred
during the market's weekly sanitation.
He said, "Around 7am, some policemen in a
bus stopped beside a Toyota Highlander
around Daleko Market and shot the
occupant.
"The traffic was light at the time because
market had not yet opened so they
(policemen) were able to flee.
"The man bled profusely as people gathered
around his vehicle. After some time, the Area
Commander, Area D, Omololu Bishi, arrived
with some other policemen and took the
victim away."
Another eyewitness, who is a commercial
motorcycle rider, said they initially chased
the policemen, adding that they later
abandoned the bus and escaped on
motorcycles.
The witness said the policemen were in the
habit of using commercial buses to carry out
illegal arrests, but did not understand why
the motorist was killed.
He said, "I know those policemen, they
usually come here to arrest people at Daleko
Junction. On Saturday, they arrested me and
some others so when they came again
today, I recognised them. Last week, they
came in a bus which was driven by a tout
popularly known as Sunday or Sylvester.
"After the shooting this morning, we chased
the commercial bus but because the
policemen were armed, we stayed at a
distance so that we would not get shot.
When the policemen encountered a bit of
traffic, they jumped off from the bus and
escaped on motorcycles.
"Fortunately, we were able to get the
number plate of one of the motorcycles- QH
490 AKD- and we gave it to the police."
PUNCH Metro learnt that the victim died
before getting to hospital while his vehicle
was taken to Area D Command.
A police source told our correspondent that
Sunday had been arrested and he confessed
that he had gone with two policemen on
illegal duty on Saturday.
He said, "Sunday confessed that he had
gone for operation with one Idu and Ameh,
who are both policemen. We have arrested
the policemen and they have been
transferred to Special Anti-Robbery Squad.
We cannot say for now if they were the
ones involved in today's incident.
The spokesperson for the state police
command, Ngozi Braide, confirmed the
incident.
Braide said in a statement that
investigations were ongoing, adding that it
was too soon to say if the assailants were
actually policemen or impostors in police
uniform.
She said arrests had been made and some
suspects had been taken to SARS.
She said, "At about 7am, the Area
Commander, Area 'D' Mushin, received a
distress call that there was a shooting
incident around Daleko Bridge, Mushin.
Some policemen were immediately
dispatched to the area but on arrival, the
gun men had disappeared.
"On enquiry, eye witnesses clustering
around told policemen that the gunmen
were in police uniform and had operated in
a commercial bus. The victim died on his
way to the hospital.
"It was not immediately ascertained
whether the gunmen were hired killers in
police uniform or real police officers.
Meanwhile, some arrests have been made
and the suspects are currently being
detained at the SARS for interrogation.
"It would be recalled that in recent time,
gunmen operating in military and police
uniforms have been involved in one violent
crime or another and the Lagos State
Command is not leaving any stone unturned
in dealing decisively with any fake
uniformed officer."