3 Policemen Die While Chasing Okada Rider In Lagos

There was confusion on Friday in Lagos as three policemen were feared killed while attempting to arrest a commercial motorcyclist. The incident occurred at the Cement Bus Stop, along the ever-busy Lagos-Abeokuta Expressway, and led to heavy traffic on the road as well some other parts of Agege. An eyewitness who pleaded anonymity said that the policemen were attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS). According to the eyewitness, the commercial motorcyclist was going towards Oshodi, carrying two passengers, when the policemen sighted him and attempted to arrest him. “He also knew that they (policemen) wanted to arrest him and he sped off; but the policemen, who were in a van, chased him. The police van caught up with him, but he suddenly swerved his bike and the driver of the van applied the brake. “The van rammed into a commercial Volkswagen bus (popularly known as Faragon in Lagos) and the policemen at the back (of the van) were flung out.” said the eyewitness. One of the policemen was said to have hit his forehead against the slab by the bridge, while another landed on his chest on the road and the third hit his head on the bridge. The okada rider and his passengers were also said to have crashed to the ground, but quickly got up and fled in different directions, abandoning the motorcycle on the road. Another eyewitness, a trader, who was heading towards Lagos Island, who identified herself as Glory, said: “I saw two policemen down. They were dead. There was a third policeman and he was struggling on the ground. “There was also another wounded policeman on the ground, he was crying and shouting at the other policemen who were in the passenger’s seat of the van to come down and assist them. He was begging his colleagues to step down and take them to the hospital. Those ones appeared to be in shock. Their guns were scattered everywhere on the road.” When contacted, the image maker in charge of the state police command, Ngozi Braide, said she was not aware of the incident.