The Police in Lagos have apprehended 19 persons, who tried to burn down the Ejigbo Police Station in the late hours of Saturday.
It was gathered that the motorcyclists were attempting to retaliate the death of two of their members, who were allegedly knocked down by a police vehicle.
The motorcyclists were said to have started hurling missiles at the police station, damaging some police vehicles.
A resident of the area, Tunde, explaining how the incident occurred, said “I was lounging outside when I suddenly saw hundreds of youths running towards the Ejigbo Police Station. They were chanting in Hausa. I did not understand what they were saying.
“I asked one of them, who is my friend, what had happened. He told me that some policemen knocked two motorcyclists down. He said they were going to retaliate.”
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, condemned the attack on the police station, adding that nobody was knocked down.
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Oti added that the Lagos State Traffic Law prohibits the movement of motorcycles after 10pm. He explained that police repelled the irate youths by firing tear gas canisters at the mob and that nobody was shot.
“The motorcyclists wilfully damaged two operational vehicles belonging to the Rapid Response Squad, Ikeja. The police did not shoot at any of them; they only fired tear gas canisters to disperse them. The police arrested 19 of them over attempts to burn down the station,” said the police spokesman.
“The police on night guard saw some people approaching and became alert, wondering what such number of people was coming to do at the station.
“Few metres away, the mob started throwing missiles at the police station. The police resisted them from entering the compound by closing the gate. If the police had allowed them to overwhelm them, they would have burned down the station.
“In the process, they damaged two of our patrol vehicles parked outside the station. The DPO was able to organise a security team that repelled them using tear gas to avoid killing anybody.”