A female member of the Nigeria Security Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) yesterday reportedly shot dead a black market operator and injured three others at Festac area of Lagos State. The culprit, whose name could not be ascertained at press time, and her colleagues fled from the scene immediately after the incident.
A source said the deceased, identified as Dijo, challenged the lady who was destroying jerrycans filed with fuel. But for daring to challenge, the NSCDC official shot Dijo point blank. Rather than rushed Dijo to the nearest hospital, other black market sellers, attempted a futile attack on the NSCDC personnel. Angry youths attempted to hijack the situation to set some places ablaze, but policemen from Festac Police, led by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) and Area ‘E’ Commander, forestalled their moves.
Although one version of the story said that Dijo was shot dead in front of Forte Oil located at 21 Road area of FESTAC Town, another version debunked the story. A witness account claimed that no filling station in that area sold fuel yesterday.
It was gathered that the NSCDC official was part of the task force mandated to restore sanity to 21 Road, following the chaos created by fuel queue. Angry mob dragged tyres to the road and made borne fire. They carried Dijo’s body across the road and dropped it on the ground.
An attempt to set Forte Oil on fire was prevented by teams of policemen deployed from both the FESTAC Police Division and the Area ‘E Police Command. Confirming the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Dolapo Badmos, said it wasn’t a woman police that killed Dijo. She said: “There is no case of such.
The report on ground at AP filling station is that some NSCDC men in a patrol vehicle had scuffle with some men at the filling station which led to indiscriminate firing. One person was shot dead while three others were severely injured.
The Area ‘E’ Commander is on ground restoring normalcy while the command has commenced investigation to identify the NSCDC operatives involved.” When contacted, the state NSCDC Commandant, Mr. Tajudeen Balogun, said he had not been briefed on what happened. He said: “We have many units in Lagos. Right now, I am not in the office. We have been monitoring the fuel situation across Lagos. But when I get to the office I will know the unit.”
