Soldiers reportedly from Lagos state burned down a police division headquarters in Ogijo, a community on the border with Ogun State.
The incident, which occurred on Wednesday, was said to be in retaliation for the alleged killing of a soldier by a police officer from the Ogijo police station.
Angry soldiers also leveled a police patrol van and an armored personnel carrier in the attack on the police station.
how did the problems start
The mobile police officer and a soldier were said to have had a minor disagreement in Odongunyan in the Ikorodu area of Lagos state, which is a short distance from Ogijo.
The disagreement reportedly escalated into two law enforcement officers threatening to kill each other, but it was the police officer who first reached for his pistol and shot the soldier.
An eyewitness who declined to give his name because of the sensitivity of the matter told PREMIUM TIMES that the soldier was pronounced dead around 6 p.m.
Counterclaims
In a post on Twitter, Lagos State Police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin addressed the incident on Wednesday.
“Stories are circulating that riots have broken out in Odonguyan, Ikorodu. We want to clarify that the riots are in Ogijo, Ogun state, although very close to Ikorodu, Lagos.
“Our officers are on alert and would not allow any breach of law and order within Lagos state.”
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However, when talking about the incident in a telephone conversation with this newspaper, the spokeswoman for the Ogun state police, Abimbola Oyeyemi, insisted that the crisis began in Odongunyan, in the state of Lagos.
“Although the cause of the disagreement between the police officer and the soldier is still incomplete as I speak to you now, the incident actually occurred in the Odongunyan area of Ikorodu, in Lagos state and when the soldiers came for a retaliatory attack. , they went to the Ogun police. station, burned station, armored personnel carrier and patrol vehicle.
“The commander of the Ikorodu barracks has been contacted and is looking into the matter,” Oyeyemi said.