A man was yesterday hit at the popular Oje market in Ibadan by the police stray bullets, killing him on the spot.
It was learnt that the police fired sporadically in a bid to quell the fight between a group of miscreants and some commercial motorists over attempts by the former to extort the latter.
The Divisional Police Officer in Agugu Division, Mr. Timothy Adedeji, led a team of policemen to the scene.
An eye witness, who did not want his name mentioned, said: “We and two other policeman prevailed on the aggrieved parties to stop the fight.
“After quelling the crisis, the mob started hailing the DPO. The police officer, being an indigene of Ibadan, tried to disperse the mob through persuasion. But when the miscreants attempted to attack him, he fired some shots into the air to scare them.
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“As he brought out his gun, a shot was fired and the bullets hit a man. The man died on the spot. The mob swooped on the police officer and dispossessed him of his rifle.”
He added that a team of policemen from Agugu Division came to rescue the police officer and his colleague from the mob attack.
Speaking on the incident, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Bisi Ilobanefor, said: “The two policemen were rescued from the mob’s attack. The mob later regrouped and went to Agugu Division, apparently to attack the station. The situation was brought under control through reinforcement.”
The PPRO said the rifle taken from the officer had been recovered with six rounds of ammunition, while the injured policemen were receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
She added that the Commissioner of Police, Mr. Muhammed Indawaba, had set up a panel to investigate the incident.
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