There was pandemonium on Wednesday at Murtala Muhammed Way, Yaba
after some soldiers allegedly attacked policemen attached to the Lagos
State special security outfit, the Taskforce on Environmental and
Special Offences (Enforcement) Unit.
It was learnt that the soldiers used bottles and stones to attack the task force officials.
They were also said to have punctured two tyres of the Black Maria belonging to the unit with knives.
According to eyewitnesses, trouble started when the task force
officials, who were on patrol, accosted the driver of a commercial bus
for obstructing traffic flow.
However, a soldier who was sitting in the bus snatched the key from
the driver to prevent the officials from taking the bus away. After few minutes of heated arguments, the soldier was said to have
called for assistance from an army base not far from the scene of the
trouble.
Within minutes, many soldiers trooped out from the base and began to throw stones and other objects at the task force officials. Some of the soldiers were said to have gone to the Black Maria brought by the task force and deflated two of its tyres.
An eyewitness said comments from the soldiers suggested that they
were also angry with way Governor Babatunde Fashola treated a Colonel,
who drove on BRT lane on Tuesday.
As the situation tensed up, the task force officials also called for help to match the number of soldiers attacking them. The crisis was allegedly escalated by a Lieutenant-Colonel who
arrived on the scene and ordered the soldiers to bundle some of the task
force officials into the barracks.
Calm was, however, restored when a senior task force official
intervened and led his men away from the area without arresting the
driver.
Task Force Chairman, Bayo Sulaiman, confirmed the attack.
He said, “It as an affront on the state government because the soldiers vandalised government vehicle.
“The attack was uncalled for as those task force officials were on legitimate duty.”
He added that he would be reporting the attack to higher authorities in the state.
But the spokesman for 81 Division, Lt. Col. Kayode Ogunsanya, said he was not aware of the incident.
He said, “I don’t think such thing was reported and except it is reported, there is no way I will know.”
The spokesman for the state police command, Ms. Ngozi Braide, said,
“I heard about the incident, but I have yet to been fully briefed on
it.”
Culled from: The Punch
