From Victor Akinkuolie, Ado-Ekiti
Pandemonium broke out in Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State capital when a motorcyclist was reportedly shot dead by an overzealous policeman while his friend sustained injury.
The Hope Metro gathered that the incident occurred at about 10:30 pm on Saturday at Ikere-Ekiti.
Reports had it that a top police boss, said to be an Assistant Inspector General (AIG) and a friend to the owner of the hotel where the shooting took place, always visit the hotel whenever he came to the town.
The happy trigger police escort were said to be in exciting mood on the fateful day while escorting their boss to the hotel.
It was learnt that one of the police escort suddenly fired shots which hit the deceased on the belly, which penetrated through his back, while the other victim was reportedly hit in the leg.
The victims, who were said to be friends, were at the bar section of the hotel located along Ado-Ikere highway when the police officers suddenly opened fire on them.
It was gathered that one of the victims was said to have died on the spot, while the other person was rushed to the Emergency Ward of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, (EKSUTH) Ado-Ekiti where he is currently receiving treatment.
A source close to the Ekiti State Teaching Hospital, said the victim was conveyed to the hospital in the Hilux vehicle of the police.
But they were said to have bolted out of the hospital and also abandoned the Hilux, moments after dumping the victim.
Information has it that the police escort Hilux, which does not belong to the Ekiti State Command was left abandoned at the hospital since Saturday night by the policemen at the Emergency Unit entrance of EKSUTH.
It was learnt that residents in the neighbourhood who got wind of the incident trooped to the hospital to catch a glimpse at the abandoned police hilux.
The irate crowd, upon opening the doors of the hilux, allegedly found the identity cards of the policemen inside the vehicle.
As at the time of filing this report, the tyres of the Hilux had been removed
Aside relocating the victim that had bullet wound to Afe Babalola University Multi System Hospital, the body of the other victim that died has also been moved to a private hospital mortuary, as EKSUTH mortuary was said to be full
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer of the command, ASP Sunday Abutu, confirmed the receipt of the incident and said thorough investigation would be conducted to unravel the cause of the incident.
He said the policeman who was involved in the shooting had already been arrested and disarmed, preparatory to full scale investigation as to the course of the incident.
In a similar killing on Saturday, a police officer, (names withheld) attached to Okesa Divisional Police Station was reportedly shot dead by a colleague in a bid to disperse some youths who stormed the station to protest the killing of their colleague by a commercial driver.
An eye witness account said the policeman was mistakenly killed during a melee that ensued during the mob invasion of the station.
The mob mainly youths and numbering about 50 had reportedly besieged the station chanting war songs over the killing of a motorcyclists by a driver.
The youth were said to be venting their anger over the killing of one of them by the driver and alleged the police of seizure of the corpse, including a sum of N470,000 paid to the family of the deceased by the car owner.
The deceased’s family had allegedly demanded the money to enable them transport the corpse to their country home, for burial.
A source said: “When the police failed to release the corpse and money allegedly collected from the driver to the family of the deceased person, the relatives stormed the police station in protest and demanded that the corpse and the money should be released.
But the Police Public Relations Officer, Ekiti Command, ASP Sunday Abutu, said the police were still investigating who actually fired the shot that killed the policeman.
Abutu said that the investigation became expedient on the premise that the protesters came to the police station with dangerous weapons and that the gunshots came from different directions.