Pandemonium, Heavy Fire Fight as Police, Naval Men Clash in Lagos
Less than 72 hours after some naval officers swooped on a hapless policewoman at the Mushin area of Lagos State, whipping her black and blue, another woman, this time, a civilian, has been brutalised by soldiers at Ikorodu, also in Lagos. The police woman, identified as Sergeant Vicky, attached to the Traffic Section of the Lagos State Police Command, was attacked by a naval officer and a rating because she hit the body of their car. Vicky was said to have hit the body of the car after the men refused to heed her signal to halt along Mushin axis.
The incident occurred about 1p.m. on Friday. The naval men, who were in full uniform, angrily stormed out of their car, descended on Vicky with the horsewhips.
Although Vicky’s boss was at the scene, he seemed too petrified to render a helping hand to the policewoman. A source said: “After whipping Vicky, the naval men bundled her into their car and zoomed off. The horsewhip welts were seen on her face. Her mouth was swollen and her uniform dirty.”
It was learnt that moments after the naval men abducted Vicky, operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), who were on routine patrol, drove to the area. Vicky’s frantic boss signaled the SARS men to stop and narrated the incident.
The source said: “The SARS operatives immediately started chasing the naval men.
The incident happened at Mushin area, but the SARS men chased them through Ojuelegba. On climbing the Ijora Bridge, SARS men blocked them. The SARS men asked them why they abducted the policewoman.
When the policemen didn’t receive a satisfactory answer, they attempted to forcibly drag Vicky out of the naval men’s car.” The argument between naval men and policemen caused a gridlock. If the SARS men pull the car door of the naval men open, the naval men would slam it close. In the process, the door handle fell off.
The naval rating jumped out of the car and locked the vest of one of the SARS men.
They started struggling. Other SARS men used the opportunity and tried to drag Vicky out of the car, but the naval officer repeatedly stopped them. After a tug of war, the SARS men succeeded in pulling Vicky out of the car, but her uniform tore during the pulling between naval and policemen.”
The naval rating, who still held one of the SARS men, refused to let him go. The SARS operative punched him in the face, leading to fisticuffs. The naval rating was said to have been beaten until he passed out and slumped on the road. Orji The source said: “The news of the clash travelled like wildfire. Policemen were alerted on air to proceed to the scene and do everything possible to rescue the abducted sergeant. Police re-enforcement started moving to the scene.
At the same time, naval men and soldiers started appearing from nowhere. Some of them stepped down from commercial buses, moving towards the scene of the fracas. When the SARS men noticed the growing number of naval men and soldiers, they started shooting sporadically.
They even shot and perforated the tyres of the car of the two naval men.” The shooting was so intense that motorists, fearing it was an ongoing robbery operation, abandoned their vehicles and scampered for safety.
The SARS men drove to Command with Vicky. It was learnt that since the incident, the SARS men have been expecting a debriefing from the Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, but he was yet to invite them. There has also been a graveyard silence from Navy and Army.
When contacted, the state Police Command Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olarinde Famous-Cole, said the command was not aware of it. While the outrage over the attack and attempted abduction of Vicky on Friday, March 10, is yet to die down, another woman, a civilian, identified as Ruth Orji, was attacked on Sunday, March 12, by soldiers. Orji was beaten at Odoguyan, Ikorodu area of Lagos, after she challenged a soldier for slapping her brother. She sustained several injuries as a result of the brutality.
