By James Ogunnaike

Police: Business activities were on Thursday disrupted in the popular Olomore market in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital for about three hours following alleged injuries inflicted on two Hausa traders by Operatives of the Special Anti – Robbery Squad(SARS), who were chasing some boys suspected to be “yahoo yahoo boys”

The security operatives were alleged to have opened fire on the fleeing suspects who ran into the market for cover and thereby escaped.

The traders alleged that the SARS Operatives chased some boys into the direction of the market and fired at them as they escaped but the bullets hit two of the traders.

An eye witness who identified himself as Nasir Abiola Sani, said, around 10a.m, eight SARs officers, suspected to be from the Lafenwa Divisional Police Headquarters stormed the popular market in an unmarked Siena Toyota vehicle when the pepper and tomatoes traders were offloading their goods.

The officers, who were chasing yahoo yahoo boys later accosted the victims, one Musa Adamu and another, simply identified as, Awwal when they were counting money meant for the payment of their goods.

The officers, he said dragged the victims on the ground, shot them and left the scene with three other traders.

While Adamu was shot in the head and left critically injured, Awwal was shot twice in the leg.

He said, “this morning, we were offloading baskets of pepper and tomatoes from the trucks when suddenly, about eight SARs officers stormed the market and started chasing traders and shot two people.”

Angered by the action of the police, hundreds of people, comprising Hausa and Yoruba traders took to the Brewery-Olomore-Ita Oshin axis of the Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, blocking the road with planks and made burn-fire.

The victims were rushed to a nearby private hospital, Bisted Hospital but were referred to the Federal Medical Centre (FMC).

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The situation further degenerated when the angry protesters, armed with sticks, planks, stones and other harmful objects attacked police officers who responded to the situation.

The protesters pelted the officers, chasing them and chanting “barawo”, forcing the officers to run for their dear lives.

The protesters went on a rampage, attacking any police officer around the vicinity and damaged several vehicles while motorists and passers-by also scampered for safety.

The Chairman of the pepper and tomatoes sellers association, Alhaji Ishaku Nuya who spoke with journalists demanded for justice for his colleagues, saying the perpetrators of the act must be fished out and face the full wrath of the law.

He said the only way the traders could be pacified was if the officers who shot the traders were brought to justice to serve as a deterrent for other triggers happy police officers.

It took the joint efforts of men of the State Police Command and officers of the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) over one hour before the protesters were pacified.

The appeal of the Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Criminal Investigation Department (CID), DC Abass who led his men to the scene to pacify the protesters that the perpetrators would be brought to justice fell on deaf ears as the protestors kept on shouting, “No more SARs”.

The police boss said, “We respect the agitations of the protesters. If not, we won’t be here, if we do not respect them, we would have use teargas to disperse them.

“The issue has gone beyond using force on them, we don’t want to escalate it any further that is why we are engaging them in dialogue. We are pacifying them. They are already bothered.”

“What they (protesters) need from us is the assurance that justice will be done. Once we are able to convince them that justice will be done, we will get a very good result, Abass said.

On his part, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Abimbola Oyeyemi said the victims are not dead but receiving treatments at the State Hospital in Ijaiye, Abeokuta.

He noted that the police officers involved in the incident were operatives of the Anti-Cultism and not SARS, PPRO pointing out that some hoodlums had swept on the police officers who were responding to a distress call in the area and prevented them from going away.

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“I want to correct an impression because I have seen online that it is as a result of police chasing some called yahoo boys and that was why they fired into the market. That is not true and that is not the position of the case. They are not running after any yahoo boys“.

“We are yet to ascertain what actually caused the initial fracas, but investigation is going to reveal that”.

“What actually happened today was that our men at Lafenwa division received information early in the morning by members of the public that there was a fracas at Olomore area. As a result of that, the DPO Lafenwa division mobilised some of his team and they went straight to the place. One of the team that followed him to the place is anti-cultist team. On getting there, they were able to calm the situation down and they arrested four suspects among those who were causing troubles in that place”.

“As the police were about to move with the suspects, some hoodlums swept on them that they are not going to take those people away. In a bid to scare those people away, one of the anti-cultist men fired into the air and unfortunately, a straight bullet hit two men. The men have been rushed to the hospital and they are responding to treatment”.

Oyeyemi further explained that the police officer, who allegedly fired the shot at the Olomoore market has been arrested and currently undergoing interrogation at the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department (SCIID), stressing that the state Commissioner of Police, Kenneth Ebrimso has ordered a full-scale investigation into the case.

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