Stray bullet kills beef seller

Commercial activities went on as usual last weekend, in Oko-Baba area of Lagos, when all of a sudden, the sound of a gun shot fired by a policeman at the check point changed the course of the day, as a stray bullet hit a butcher who was going about his lawful business, in the chest, killing him on the spot.

The deceased, identified as Muyideen Fatai, according to eye witnesses, sat on a slab in front of a shop, poles away from the police post, attending to a customer when the unimaginable happened.

Although sympathizers tried to rescue him, as they rushed him to a private hospital close by, only for him to be confirmed dead.

His death sparked off violence in the area as some angry youths took to the street protesting, destroying vehicles plying the route . The mob, as gathered, marched to the Oko-Baba police police post with the intent of setting it ablaze.

But the situation was reportedly saved by the swift arrival of eminent personalities, among them, a local government chairman who pleaded for a better way to address the issue on ground.

The late Muyideen’s assailant, a Corporal identified simply as Adejo reportedly stopped a commercial bus driver along the route but he kept moving. In a bid to stop the vehicle, he reportedly aimed at the tyres by releasing a shot, only for him to miss the target.

The Commissioner of Police, Mr Yakubu Alkali said to have registered his anger over the incident, as gathered, directed that the erring cop be arrested.

Police sources said Corporal Adejo was undergoing an orderly room trial, at the end of which he would be prosecuted if found wanting .The remains of the 22-year-old Saki, Oyo state- born butcher, had been moved to his home town for burial.