Two persons have been killed and others injured in Ojodu Abiodun during a protest by okada riders on Wednesday 22 July 2020.
The protesters decried what they term “ill treatment” of their members by police officers in the area, whom they say arrested over 10 of their members for no offence…
Leader of the protesters who pleaded anonimity said the oppression of the mallams on their legitimate trade has persisted despite paying huge sums of money to the police authorities at Adigboluja Police Station.
Besides what the leader of the okada riders terms extortion, he said increased obligatory Union charges were paid accordingly, yet the police are relentless in tormenting their members every night even before the lockdown as a result of the Coronavirus.
Speaking to Control TV via phone, the DPO Adigboluja Police Station on his part said the hoodlums stationed themselves just in front of the Justrite supermarket along Kosoko Road where they began fomenting trouble by attacking motorist and Robbing them.
” They also came down to the station, they wanted to burn down the station. They vandalised my vehicle and the Patrol Van. They attacked one of the patrol officers, they pulled him down and collected his gun. They wanted to go away with it.
That’s when I got the call and we moved in to control the situation. The hoodlums are made up of Hausas and Youruba okada riders holding Cutlass and daggers.
One of the riders spoke to us saying “we are fed up.. they collect our hard earned money by force; impound our okada. We pay 10,000 naira to get it back. We have really suffered in the hands of the police at Adigboluja Police Station, they are not good people”.
“The police now took their van and parked at Berger, any Mallam Okada driver they see they will arrest and put in their motor, they have arrested over 10 of our members that is why we are protesting”, he said.
” The policemen chased some of us into adjourning Hassan Abiodun Street shooting at us and in the process killed two boys. two policemen dragged one dead boy like a dead goat”.
The incident has caused diversion of motorists in the area with many forced to navigate through Bemil estate area to access ikeja Berger and other areas.
Some traders closed shop for fear of being hit by stray bullets.
(C) Control TV 2020.
