Lagos: Police arrests two for stoning LASTMA commander to death, suspects deny involvement
Lagos State Police Command says it has arrested two suspects in connection to the brutal lynching to death of LASTMA zonal commander, Olatunji Bakare.
Bakare was killed on December 15 in the Apapa area of Lagos after a mob rained stones on him in retaliation for the death of a motor boy.
The boy was said to have been hit and killed by a LASTMA van in pursuit of erring drivers.
A video of Bakare’s last moments went viral few days after his death.
State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni paraded the two suspects, identified as Abubakar Ibrahim and Usman Ahmad, on Friday. Mr. Owoseni said the police were on the trail of other suspects.
Ibrahim, 25, and Ahmad, 23, are motorcycle riders.
The Commissioner said, “Having analysed the video very well, two suspects, who have been identified positively, having matched the recording with their faces, have been apprehended.
“We will use them to get to others that took part in the gory act. We will do everything that needs to be done in terms of subjecting the report to forensic interpretation to ensure that innocent people are not made to suffer.”
The suspects have however maintained their innocence in participating in the criminal act, as they claimed they were framed by the police.
“I was arrested in a school in Apapa, where I was relaxing because my motorcycle was faulty that day,” Ibrahim, an Adamawa native is quoted as saying.
“Some policemen had arrested an okada (motorcycle) rider for an offence. Other riders tried to collect the motorcycle from the policemen.
“Initially, I was accused of being among those who stoned the policemen. Later, they said I was involved in the killing of the LASTMA officer. But I didn’t go to where the officer was killed that day. I have paid N20,000 to secure my bail and my motorcycle is with the police.”
Ahmad, an indigene of Borno State, said he was arrested at a hospital after he had helped an accident victim. “The police picked me at the hospital with my motorcycle and said I was among those who stoned the LASTMA officer. They collected the N9,500 on me and seized my motorcycle,” he said.
