By Evelyn Usman
LAGOS—An angry mob, yesterday, lynched a Police Corporal at Akonwonjo area of Lagos for allegedly killing a commercial bus driver.
A vulcanizer, whose identity could not be immediately ascertained, was also allegedly felled by the Corporal’s bullet. Time was 2.30 p.m.

Eyewitnesses said the commercial bus driver, identified simply as Kazeem, was stopped by a team of Policemen on stop-and-search, at Vulcaniser Bus-Stop and demanded for an unspecified amount of money.

Kazeem, as gathered, argued that he had initially given the Policemen money and even reminded them of the number they gave to his conductor.

He was said to have  zoomed off ignoring the Policemen, an action that infuriated one of them who allegedly fired into the moving vehicle. The bullet was said to have pierced the driver’s throat, who lost control of the bus and rammed into a vehicle in front.

The action sparked off a violent reaction as an angry mob reportedly chased the killer cop.

Stray bullet kills vulcanizer

Eyewitnesses said the unidentified Corporal fired some shots in a bid to scare away the surging mob. In the process, the vulcanizer was hit by a stray bullet.

But the undaunted mob reportedly caught up with the Corporal, disarmed him and beat him into a state of coma. The mob, thereafter, took to the road chanting anti-Police songs.

It took the combined efforts of both Mobile and conventional Policemen to quell the situation. About 25 Police vans and 100 Policemen were sighted patrolling the entire vicinity.

The incident disrupted both vehicular and human movements. Traders were not left out as shop owners hurriedly locked up for fear of being arrested by the Policemen. Eyewitnesses said there was random arrests by Policemen.

PPRO’s comments

Contacted, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Frank Mba, said about 20 persons had been arrested. He said the lynched cop was responding to treatment in an undisclosed hospital.

He said if at the end of investigations the Policeman was found to have shot indiscriminately, the Command would not hesitate to deal decisively with the erring Policeman.

He added also that if it is discovered that people took laws into their hands, the Command would also not take it lightly with such individual, pointing out that two wrongs could never make a right.