There was chaos at Trinity, Ajegunle area of Lagos State yesterday after a policeman allegedly shot dead a tanker driver for refusing to part with N1,000.
The suspected killer-cop was said to be an operative of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) posted to Ajegunle to tackle traffic robbers along the Mile Two-Apapa axis.
It was gathered that trouble started after the driver insisted that he only had N500 to give the policeman, who got infuriated and fired the driver.
Other drivers who witnessed the incident were said to have descended on the policeman, who was rescued and taken away by his colleagues.
The policemen, who rescued the trigger-happy cop, allegedly shot in the air to scare the mob before they took their colleague away.
Not satisfied, the tanker drivers were said to have mobilised their colleagues from other parts of the state and they laid siege to the road to Apapa, worsening traffic congestion.
A source said the protesters burnt tyres on the road, while hoodlums capitalised on the protest to rob people.
Pressmen learnt that some vehicles were vandalised, while commercial activities were paralysed.
As people scampered for safety, it was gathered that many sustained injuries.
A driver, Danladi Usman, said: “We are being over extorted. We pay N1,000 to the police. We pay to officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Agency (LASTMA) and to local government officials. To worsen the matter, we pay to area boys. The extortion is becoming a burden on us. If we do not have money, they make us to pay with our lives. Is it a crime to be a truck driver?”
Police spokesman Chike Oti said details of the incident were still sketchy.
He said: “There was a crisis in the area and we heard that someone died in the crisis. The Commissioner of Police, Imohimi Edgal, has directed investigation into the matter. At the end of investigation, anyone found culpable will be prosecuted. However, the outcome of the investigation will be made known to the public.”
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