By Olasunkanmi Akoni

Chairman of the Lagos State Environmental and Special Offences Enforcement Unit (Taskforce), Chief Superintendent of Police, CSP Shola Jejeloye, said non of his men was involved in a Monday shoot out at Second Rainbow Bus Stop in Amuwo Odofin Local Government in which a stray bullet allegedly killed one unidentified person during compliance enforcement exercise targeted at Okada operators on the axis.

Speaking, yesterday, at the agency’s Headquarters, Oshodi, Jejeloye said that taskforce had no hand in the shooting as they had stern directive against firing.

According to him, “Our attention has been drawn to a purported claim making the rounds that the officials of the agency were involved in a shoot out at Second Rainbow Bus Stop in Amuwo Odofin during an enforcement on Monday.”

Jejeloye, who led the operation, maintained, “there is no iota of truth in the report.

“Activities of the Lagos State Taskforce are carried out with the highest degree of civility and caution because we are dealing with human lives in our operations.

“We have been to Second Rainbow more than three times this year to carry out enforcement operations and have never recorded any injuries, talk more of loss of life. There was no provocation at all during yesterday’s exercise so the claim that we fired live ammunition at Okada operators is completely false.”

Jejeloye, further stated that though Enforcement operations are not people’s friendly, the agency still makes sure that human lives and property are preserved during traffic enforcement activities as traffic offense is not a criminal offense.

He continued: “It is better to let 20 guilty traffic offenders escape than let one innocent individual lose his life and that is how we operate.

“I addressed my officers and men last week on the high level of compliance towards the ban on okada operators across the state, there is no need for us to fire live rounds at harmless okada operators.

“If things get heated up, the maximum action we can take is to fire teargas canisters into the air to disperse them.

“Firing live rounds is excessive and was not from any member of the Agency. According to an eye witness, The stray bullet might have come from other security operatives (not Lagos State Taskforce)who ran into the mob after we had left.”

Jejeloye, however, promised to sustain the ongoing operations to ensure that the state remains safe, clean and habitable for all.