Police stray bullet kills two in Ekiti

Two young men were, on Tuesday, killed by a yet-to-be-identified policeman who allegedly fired gunshots at some youths trying to resist the arrest of their colleagues in Ado Ekiti.

Witness accounts stated that the incident happened in the Omisanjana area of Ado Ekiti at about 11 p.m. while some men of the Police Rapid Response Squad (RRS) were chasing some young men, believed to be internet fraud stars (yahoo boys). The fleeing men drove a Lexus RX car.

According to reports, the young men got involved in an accident with two motorcycle riders while attempting to escape from arrest.

Further accounts stated that it was when some irate youths attempted to help the fleeing men to resist arrest, by mobbing the police, that one of them fired bullets that fatally injured two boys.

Though the victims were said to have been rushed to the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, they gave up the ghost at the hospital.

At the moment, their bodies have been deposited in the morgue.

However, a statement by the spokesperson for the Ekiti State Police Command, Sunday Abutu, a deputy superintendent of police, stated that a discreet investigation had commenced.

“The Command, upon the receipt of the information, deployed the State Traffic section to the scene to ensure there is no breakdown of law and order as well as ensure the safety of the victims.

“On getting to the scene, the operatives met resistance as some irate youths disallowed them from performing their lawful duty and insisted on carrying out jungle justice. This necessitated a call for re-enforcement to assist the officers on the ground.

“However, in the process, one of the officers accidentally fired a shot that fatally injured two persons,” Mr Abutu said.

The police spokesperson disclosed that the officer responsible for the shooting had been disarmed, arrested and detained, and would face disciplinary action immediately.

He said the Command was already in touch with the two families of the deceased, adding that the Ekiti State Commissioner of Police, Akinwale Kunle Adeniran, had condoled with the families and assured them that justice shall prevail.