Metro

Protest As Policemen Kill Motorcyclist

Published

3 years ago

December 20, 2022

Policemen attached to the Sagamu Road Police Division, Lagos State Police Command, have allegedly shot dead a motorcyclist, Stephen Alabi, aka Doctor, at Sabo Market, in the Ikorodu area of the state.

Alabi and his colleagues were said to be at a park close to the Sabo Market when the policemen arrived to impound motorcycles from riders operating against the ban on motorcycle operations in the state.

A motorcyclist, Olawale Olawuwo, while speaking with The PUNCH, said the policemen were attempting to seize a bike from his colleague when Alabi intervened, adding that one of the policemen shot him.

Olawuwo said, “The incident happened on Thursday; motorcyclists were at our park at the front gate of the Sabo Market when policemen stormed the premises to impound motorcycles. They were about seizing a bike from a motorcyclist when the deceased met them at the front gate of the market around 3pm.

“Alabi was trying to settle the matter between the motorcyclist and the policemen when one of the cops cocked his gun and started shooting; one of the stray bullets hit Alabi.

“We don’t know why the policemen started shooting; we attempted going to the Sagamu Road Police Station, but we were told that the policemen at the station would detain us if we went there because the policeman responsible for the bullet that struck Alabi was from the station.”

Another motorcyclist, who gave his name simply as Adam, while lamenting the incident, said immediately Alabi was shot, he was rushed to the Ikorodu General Hospital but was rejected, adding that he died while receiving treatment at a private hospital.

“We want the government to help us; Stephen is dead,” he added.

PUNCH Metro gathered that colleagues of the deceased staged a demonstration and blocked the Ebute-Igbogbo Road to express their grievances on Saturday.

Speaking during the protest, a motorcyclist, who gave his name only as Tobender for security reasons, confirmed that the police were enforcing the ban on motorcycle operations when Alabi was killed.

He said, “The policemen arrested me on Ojubode Road in Ikorodu, seized my motorcycle from 8am till 5pm when they released it after collecting N10,500. There are a lot of traffic robbers at the Garage Roundabout but the police do not arrest them. But the police go after those who use motorcycles to feed their families. If we complain, the police usually say Lagos does not want Okada and yet we pay for tickets.”

However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, in another narrative, said a mob attacked a police patrol team on the false belief that the team was responsible for an accident involving a motorcycle and a tricycle in the area, which led to the shooting.

“Investigation is ongoing to unravel all the facts behind the shooting,” he added.

The police have been accused of shooting motorcycle riders during enforcement of the ban on their operations in certain parts of Lagos State.

A few months ago, a security guard, Koleosho Abayomi, demanded justice after accusing a policeman of shooting him in the thigh at the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II, in the Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

Abayomi, who was bedridden due to the injuries he sustained during the attack, said the policemen were enforcing the ban on motorcycle operations when the incident happened.

Metro

Fake Revenue Agents Apprehended In Aba While Defrauding Residents

Published

2 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Abia State Harmonized Taskforce has apprehended four individuals impersonating as members of the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) for acts of extortion, intimidation, and illegal enforcement along the Port Harcourt Road axis of Aba and its environs.

They were nabbed on Thursday at Flyover junction around Ugwunagbo area through an operation authorized by the Aba Area Coordinator of ASHTF, Mr. Uche Wogu.

A statement issued by Miracle Chukwunenye, spokesperson of the Harmonized Task Force said that the agency received multiple complaints from market women, tricycle (Keke) operators, and traders about the unlawful activities of a group led by one Mr. Ahuama.

‎”Upon arrival, the Taskforce, in joint effort with the police, arrested Mr. Ahuama and three accomplices who were caught extorting money from unsuspecting traders and tricycle operators under the false pretense of being NURTW officials.

“Investigations revealed that the suspects had already impounded about twenty (20) tricycles earlier that morning and collected money from the owners before being intercepted,” Chukwunenye said.

‎He added that during the operation, the suspects resisted arrest and attacked Taskforce operatives and police officers, but they were eventually subdued and are now in custody.

Chukwunenye sensitized traders and transporters that Abia State operates a strict No-Cash-at-Hand revenue system, and as such, no government-authorized personnel is permitted to collect cash from citizens.

Metro

Stray Bullet Kills 13-year-old Boy In Delta Community

Published

2 hours ago

October 10, 2025

Editor

Stray bullets have killed a-13-year old boy, as well as injured many others in Sapele, Sapele Local Government Area of Delta State.

The incident occurred at about 10pm on Thursday Night.

According to DAILY POST, sporadical shots from security men on guard duty at a popular hotel killed the boy by Mopol Zone junction in Tropical area.

The incident caused serious tension in the area.

The reasons for the sporadic shootings by the security men were still sketchy as of the time of this report.

Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Bright Edafe is yet to comment on the matter.

Metro

LASG Orders Eviction Of Squatters Under Opebi–Mende Bridge

Published

20 hours ago

October 9, 2025

Editor

The Lagos State Government has ordered the immediate eviction of squatters and traders who have converted the space beneath the yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into makeshift homes and shops.

The directive followed an unscheduled inspection of the bridge on Thursday by the Commissioner for the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Tokunbo Wahab, alongside the Special Adviser to the Governor on Infrastructure, Olufemi Daramola, and the Permanent Secretary, Olatokunbo Oyenuga.

According to a statement signed and released by the Director of Public Affairs, Ministry of the Environment and Water Resources, Mr Kunle Adeshina, Wahab directed security agencies to immediately move in and dislodge all squatters and demolish illegal structures erected beneath the bridge.

“The Lagos State Government has given a marching order for the immediate dislodgement of all types of squatters who have converted the underbelly of the new but yet-to-be-commissioned Opebi–Mende Bridge into homes and stores,” the statement read.

Wahab said the state government would not allow any part of the newly built infrastructure to become a haven for miscreants, stressing that protecting lives and property remained a core duty of the administration.

“It is disheartening that an iconic project which is almost ready for commissioning, has suddenly been taken over by different shades of miscreants and squatters.

“Even some people from the Cane Village have come to the underbelly of the bridge to create an illegal settlement. We will not only dislodge them but also permanently monitor the location to ensure they do not return,” Wahab was quoted as saying in the statement.

Reinforcing his stance in a post on X (formerly Twitter), Wahab wrote that the Sanwo-Olu administration “will not tolerate lawlessness,” warning mechanics who have turned the adjoining open space into workshops to vacate immediately or risk having their vehicles impounded.

“Security agencies will move in immediately, and we will sustain monitoring to ensure squatters do not return. The Opebi–Mende Bridge is a huge investment by the Babajide Sanwo-Olu–led administration, and we will protect it for the benefit of law-abiding citizens,” he wrote.

The Special Adviser on Infrastructure, Engr. Daramola, noted that the state had invested heavily in the project and warned that failure to act swiftly could turn the area into a slum. He pledged to collaborate with the Ministry of the Environment to clean up and maintain the site.

The Opebi–Mende-Ojota Link Bridge, initiated by Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, was flagged off on 26 January 2022.

It is approximately 3.9 km long and is designed to connect Opebi in Ikeja through Mende to Maryland and Ojota, offering relief to motorists in the Ikeja-Ojota axis by easing congestion on roads such as Mobolaji Bank-Anthony and Kudirat Abiola Way.

Meanwhile, Lagos State Government has intensified enforcement operations to remove illegal structures under bridges and drainage channels in places like Ijora, Apongbon, Obalende, and Adeniji-Adele, as part of efforts to reclaim public space and address environmental, safety, and traffic concerns.