Police Stray Bullet Kills Female Trader in Lagos

Chiemelie Ezeobi

While pursuing an alleged suspect, some policemen attached to the Onipanu Police Division in Lagos, tuesday killed a female trader in the area and left two others with varying degree of injuries.

The 51-year-old deceased, who was identified as Mrs Kudirat Adebayo, otherwise known as Iya Ayo, was said to have been hit by a stray bullet right infront of her teenage son, while she was frying food at Railway area of toll gate in Mushin, Lagos.

The policeman, who was identified as Tboy SARS, had released his bullet when the alleged fraudster he was pursuing made to escape.

Not minding the crowd, he alongside others recklessly shot into the crowd and the stray bullet hit the woman and also left two others injured.

One of the woman’s son, simply indentified as Olorunloye, took to Twitter to reveal what happened.

According to him, after they had killed his mother, the policemen fled to the station to escape the anger of the crowd.

While crying for justice he appealed to the police to ensure that the killer cop is fished out and made to pay for his crimes.

His colleagues also inflicted bullet wounds on the legs of a commercial motorcyclist and his passenger, for allegedly watching them while trying to extort money from some yahoo boys in the area.

Tboy and another policeman popularly called Prince’ were said to have stormed the railway area with his colleagues to collect their share of the money that some so called yahoo boys have just got.

On getting there, the yahoo boys were said to have declined the demand of the policemen, given that they had settled another set of policemen from the same station.

The refusal annoyed the policemen, who began to shoot sporadically into the crowd and the woman was hit by a bullet while she was frying yam, bean cake and plantain to be sold that night.

An eyewitness said the policemen were in the habit of chasing yahoo boys around for money to enable them to meet up their weekly money contribution.

He said, ’They just opened fire into the crowd , and killed the woman and injured two others.

“These policemen are in the habit of operating outside the area of jurisdiction so as to extort money from motorists and motorcyclists. Look at the scene of the killing, it is not under olosan division but under Ilupeju police station.”

Meanwhile, a former chairman of Odi-olowo council, Mr. Yemi Ali has promised to wade into the matter to ensure justice in the alleged killing.

He sent a representative, one Deacon Taiwo to calm the mood of the aggrieved residents and family members of the deceased, Mrs Kudirat Adebayo.

One of the sisters of the deceased said, “They shot my sister in the head while frying food to be sold yesterday. We have been doomed. They have killed us ‘’

The State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Olarinde Famous-Cole, who confirmed the incident, however said it was a case of mob action.

He said the command was already investigating to get to the truth of the matter and ensure the arrest of those involved in the alleged mob attack on some of the policemen from the area.

He said, “’We have some policemen in our custody and every other person we could lay our hands on are also in our custody’’