Angry youths, yesterday, set ablaze a Lagos Police Station, located at Olayiwola Close, Oregun area of Ikeja, over the alleged killing of 23-year-old Idris Bakare by a police officer.
It was gathered that the arson against the station occurred at about 3:00 a.m., while the police officer, simply identified as Kabiru, allegedly killed Bakare at about 12:00 a.m. on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
When The pressmen visited the area yesterday, his friends and residents gathered in clusters to mourn the young man they described as a gentle boy. One of his friends who pleaded anonymity said they were billed to go to Fela Shrine before the incident.
He said: “We were supposed to go to Fela Shrine and he asked me to wait for him to take his phone from his room, but in return, I told him to go and sleep and that we can’t go to the shrine again because it is a Sunday.
“Within a minute, a Police officer by the name, of Kabiru parked at the other side of the road and some people took to their heels sighting him because of his appearance, he went back to his car to park at the Divine Health Centre, Lawal Street and pointed his gun at Idris and shot him dead.
“In retaliation, some youths attacked the station at about 3:00 a.m. yesterday, chased the officers and left one injured. A team of police officers stationed with three vans at the nearby street said the injured officer was rushed to the emergency centre at the toll gate along Lagos-Ibadan Expressway for prompt treatment but did not disclose his name.
It was learnt that men of the Lagos State Fire and Rescue Service (LSFR) were mobilised to the scene to salvage the situation. The fire was put out but the building of the police post was totally razed.
Confirming the attack, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, said: “The police officer, Inspector Kabiru has been arrested and he’s at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), Yaba, Lagos. An investigation into the case has commenced.
“No one has been arrested in connection to the burning of the station but we are investigating and the injured officer is fine.” Also, an aged woman living beside the station said she was lucky that the mob did not burn her shelter and children in the building.
The attack occurred barely 24 hours after police operatives arrested two suspected Oodua Nation agitators, who invaded the Alausa Division of the Lagos State Police Command.
The agitators invaded the station with various charms and cutlasses at about 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 28, 2023. The police spokesperson said the agitators invaded the station with various charms and cutlasses at about 5:30 a.m. on Sunday, May 28, 2023.
According to Hundeyin, the suspects, upon arrival, started recording with their phones and chanting, “The Yoruba Nation has taken over in Yorubaland”. The spokesperson said the suspects also assaulted police officers, who attempted to disperse them before two of them were arrested while others escaped.
“At about 0535hrs, a group of men numbering about 15 under the aegis of Yoruba Nation Agitators came to Alausa Division and on arrival started recording with their phones and chanting, ‘No more Nigeria Police Again and That the Yoruba Nation has taken over in Yorubaland’. In the course of their protest, they assaulted some officers in the Division who attempted to disperse them.
“Police reinforcement was promptly dispatched, and two of the agitators were arrested while others escaped upon arrival of the police reinforcement.
“Various charms, cutlasses and the insignia of the group were recovered from them. The Yoruba Nation Agitators claimed they came to inform the station with an official letter that they have been approved by the United Nations. Police security in and around the Station and the entire Alausa vicinity has been up-scaled, and stable order restored.
“Detailed investigation has already commenced with the arrested suspects volunteering valuable information that will give deeper insight into the membership and future plans of the group and aid the Police in undertaking operations to deal with their threat proactively. Further development will be communicated in due course,” the statement added.