Pandemonium broke out, yesterday, in
Oke-Ilewo area of Abeokuta, Ogun State, when a bullion van belonging to one of
the new generation banks reportedly crushed a 22-year-old man, Gbenga Okesola
to death.
Vanguard gathered that the incident occurred around 11am., as the
van knocked down the victim, who was riding a motorcycle around the OPIC
Roundabout, ran over him and dragged him on the road for about five metres,
before it stopped.
It was further gathered that the
policemen escorting the van reportedly dragged the victim from under the van,
while he was still breathing, dumped him by the roadside, and zoomed off with
the vehicles.
Riot
The action of the Policemen was said to
have angered other commercial motorcyclists, who had their park at the
roundabout, as they unleashed violence, attacking law enforcement agents and
passers-by.
Attempts by men of Police command in
the state to curb the violence made things worse as the aggrieved protesters
hauled stones and other missiles at a detachment of regular and riot policemen,
who were later dispatched to the scene.
The policemen had to fire tear gas
canisters to disperse them. Doors of eateries, commercial banks and shops in
the area were quickly shut, as residents ran for their lives.
Sources said that the victim, a
carpentry apprentice, was on his way to the computer village in the area to buy
a memory card, when the incident occurred.
An eyewitness, Bunmi Adewale, said the
victim would have survived if he had been taken to a nearby hospital as soon as
the incident occurred.
Police story
The state Police Public Relations
Officer, Muyiwa Adejobi, said the bullion van belonged to a new generation bank
in the state and was driven by a supernumerary policeman, popularly known as Spy,
trained by the bank to move cash from one point to the other.
He disclosed that the driver of the
bullion van had been arrested and that they had the bullion van in their
custody.
He said: “A bullion van belonging to
one of the new generation banks knocked down a motorcyclist at OPIC Roundabout,
and he fell under the vehicle.
“The vehicle dragged him for about five
metres before the police escort pulled him out and abandoned him. This was what
angered the people.
“They have the right to protest, but
they became violent and started attacking law enforcement agents, passers-by
and even journalists.
“We had to apply minimum force to
disperse them and also to take the corpse of the victim to the mortuary.
“Presently, we have arrested the driver
of the bullion van and the vehicle too is our custody. The law will take its
course and justice will be done.
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