Police said angry youths lynched an Air Force personnel in retaliation
Soldiers on Sunday afternoon killed two siblings for allegedly smuggling bags of foreign parboiled rice in Ogun State, witnesses have said.
The incident happened at Owode, Yewa South Local Government area of the state.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that trouble started when the soldiers accosted one of the brothers who was reportedly in possession of smuggled rice.
A source told PREMIUM TIMES that during the ensuing altercation between the man and the soldiers, some people called his younger brother, popularly known as Saheed Elegusi.
“Saheed rushed to the scene and the two of them were shot dead by the soldiers. We don’t know when soldiers become customs officers,” said the source who requested anonymity to avoid being attacked by soldiers.
The killing sparked an angry protest by the youths in the community after the soldiers had fled.
The youths’ protest continued on Monday when they set bonfires on the Sango-Idiroko road and halted vehicular movements.
Abimbola Oyeyemi, the police spokesperson in the state, confirmed the incident. He said the mob had killed an officer of the Nigerian Air Force, in retaliation.
“Yes, the incident happened yesterday. I think it was caused by an argument between them (the two brothers) and men of the Nigerian Army. We are still investigating,” the police spokesperson said.
“But do you know that the people killed an Air Force officer who was just passing on his own? He was just going on his own, he had nothing to do with the crisis. They just mobbed him and killed him because he was in uniform.
“Anyway, investigation is ongoing. The Commissioner of Police has directed the Homicide section to take over the matter.
The situation has been brought under control. The area is calm now. The DPO of Owode and some other policemen were able to move into the scene quickly. But unfortunately, the Air Force officer was killed.”