The Lagos State Police Command has arrested 19 persons, who allegedly attempted to burn down the Ejigbo Police Station around 11.15pm on Saturday.
A resident of the area, identified simply as Tunde, told our correspondent that he was lounging outside his apartment when he suddenly saw hundreds of commercial motorcyclists armed with dangerous weapons racing towards the police station.
According to him, he did not understand what they were saying until one of his friends told him that a police vehicle allegedly knocked down two of their colleagues.
He noted that a few minutes after, the motorcyclists started hurling missiles at the police station and threatened to bring it down.
He added that in the process, the mob damaged some police vehicles.
Tunde explained that by the time the police mobilised and repelled the attack on the station, some of the motorcyclists had sustained varying degrees of injuries.
He said, “I was lounging outside when I suddenly saw hundreds of youths running towards the Ejigbo Police Station. They were chanting in Hausa. I did not understand what they were saying.
“I asked one of them, who is my friend, what had happened. He told me that some policemen knocked two motorcyclists down. He said they were going to retaliate.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, condemned the attack on the police station, adding that nobody was knocked down.
According to him, the Lagos State Traffic Law prohibits the movement of motorcycles after 10pm.
He stated that the motorcyclists attempted to burn down the Ejigbo Police Station, but for quick reinforcement.
Oti added that the police repelled the irate youths by firing tear gas canisters at the mob and that nobody was shot.
The PPRO stated, “The motorcyclists wilfully damaged two operational vehicles belonging to the Rapid Response Squad, Ikeja. The police did not shoot at any of them; they only fired tear gas canisters to disperse them. The police arrested 19 of them over attempts to burn down the station.
“The police on night guard saw some people approaching and became alert, wondering what such number of people was coming to do at the station.
“Few metres away, the mob started throwing missiles at the police station. The police resisted them from entering the compound by closing the gate. If the police had allowed them to overwhelm them, they would have burned down the station.
“In the process, they damaged two of our patrol vehicles parked outside the station. The DPO was able to organise a security team that repelled them using tear gas to avoid killing anybody.”
The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, Zubairu Mu’azu, asked the operatives to rid the state of criminals, especially in the areas marked as ‘black spots’.
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