Police raid turns tragic as innocent artisan is killed, wife shot in Lagos
Police operatives conducting a raid to arrest miscreants in the Amukoko area of Lagos have allegedly killed an innocent artisan while his wife was badly injured after she took a bullet on the chest.
The victim who was identified as Abeeb Dauda, a 20-year-old tiler was shot while he was trying to help his wife lock up her shop before running to safety.
One of the police officers named Salako reportedly mistook him as one of the hoodlums they were cahsing after and fatally shot him on the stomach before fleeing the scene.
Eyewitnesses say the police arrived at the area with series of gunshots, which caused a lot of confusion among residents.
“There was a street fight and the Amukoko Police Division was contacted. By the time they arrived, the fight had stopped and those involved had fled,” one eyewitness named Adekunle told Punch.
“The policemen started shooting indiscriminately, which made everyone to panic. A woman, who has a provision store on the street, was in the shop when the shooting started.
“Her husband went there to assist her to pack her wares into the shop. Their two kids were also there. She strapped one of them on her back. As they wanted to leave the shop, one of the policemen called Salako shot at them and fled.”
It was revealed that the couple were taken to different hospitals, but Abeeb died a few hours later.
The Lagos State Police spokesperson, CSP Chike Oti said that there were no report of casualties from the raid, adding that the deceased may have been a victim of crossfire from the two rival cults that were fighting in the area.
“We were able to restore normalcy and make some arrests. We did not receive any report that somebody was shot,” he said.
Some of the residents of the area said that the cop who killed Abeeb was notorious for conducting raids in the neighbourhood and that the police was protecting him. They pleaded with the authorities to ensure that justice is served.
