The  alleged killing of two youths by policemen in the Ijora Badia area of Lagos led to a wild protest on Sunday by residents of the area.

It was gathered that the two youth were killed earlier in the day while the policemen were attempting to disperse youths who were fighting in the area.

A resident, who craved anonymity, said, “Around 4am on Sunday, there was a party in Dele Hotel in the area and many guys came to the area to have fun. However, some guys from Ijora-Badia clashed with some other guys along the railway line.

“Policemen immediately rushed down to the scene and started shooting indiscriminately. In the process, one Moses Ayenuro was hit in the neck while another guy was also shot. He later died in the hospital.”

It was learnt that the mother of one of the slain boys mobilised women and other residents to the station to demand justice, only for the policemen on duty to disperse them with live bullets.

It was learnt that after dispersing the youth, the policemen embarked on a raid and arrested many other youth.

However, a senior officer at the station, who craved anonymity, said only one youth, was killed adding that he was killed by hoodlums and not policemen.

He said, “When we got to the scene, many of the youths were seen stabbing one another with machetes and broken bottles and we shot into the air to disperse them. After the pandemonium, we observed that one of the boys had been stabbed in the neck.

“We were therefore surprised when residents began protesting later in the day. They became violent and started throwing bottles and stones at our station and we had no choice but to disperse them.”

Police Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide, said five suspects had been arrested. She maintained that police did not kill anyone. She said, rather, it was the hoodlums that killed Ayenuro.

“There was a stampede at Dele Hotel where they were holding a party. Hoodlums got in a fight. Moses Ayenuro was stabbed, but he was rescued along with one IK and another guy but Ayenuro died at hospital. The hoodlums attacked the station, demanding the release of their men. Five suspects were arrested,” she added.

 

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