Some traders from the Northern part of the country have clashed with policemen from the Akute Division in the Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State, following a disagreement over an alleged demand for a bribe of N20.
The violent clash between the traders and the policemen, which caused panic in the area, resulted in an attack on a police officer and the setting ablaze of a police patrol car.
The incident occurred, when five police officers allegedly beat one of them into a state of coma because of his refusal to part with a N20 bribe.
The traders, who were conveying baskets of tomatoes in a truck, were said to have been angered by the alleged attack of the police officers on their kinsman.
Our correspondent gathered that the five policemen attached to the Akute Division had ordered the truck driver to pull over for a check and he obeyed.
The policemen, after examining the vehicle papers, then allegedly demanded N20 bribe, which the driver refused to pay.
An eyewitness said an argument then ensued between the policemen and the traders.
In the heat of the argument over the N20 bribe, one of the policemen allegedly used the butt of his gun on the chest of one of the traders, who immediately fainted from the effect.
Sensing danger with the development, the policemen immediately fled the area, but their driver, who was in the car a few distance away from the scene of the incident, could not escape.
The infuriated traders then pounced on the police driver, who apparently was not fully aware of what had earlier transpired between them and his fleeing colleagues.
He was allegedly manhandled by the traders and sustained various degrees of injuries in the commotion.
The angry traders then vandalised the police patrol car before they set it ablaze.
While many of the residents would not want to speak on the matter, some, however, blamed the policemen for the fracas.
A resident of the area, who simply identified himself as Uncle Ola, said, “Those Hausa men wouldn’t have reacted that way, but those policemen pushed them too far; that served them right. Four young Hausa traders were transporting their goods (baskets of tomatoes) in a truck and the policemen from this Division (Akute) stopped them and asked for their particulars.
“The Hausa traders gave them the particulars, but the policemen further demanded bribe, which the Hausa traders insisted they wouldn’t give. They started arguing and all of a sudden one of the policemen hit one of the Hausa men with the bottom of his gun on his chest and the boy just collapsed.”
He added, “Everyone thought he was dead, because for close to one hour, he was lying still on the ground, despite efforts to resuscitate him.
“The policemen, who did this, immediately took to their heels. But their other colleague, who drove the car, did not know what happened because he was not there. So, he was attacked and left seriously injured, while their patrol car was burnt.”
Also speaking, a security guard at one of the banks in the area, Festus Titus, said although he was not around when the incident occurred, he was told that the policemen were “unethical, corrupt and irrational.”
It was also gathered that, while the injured policeman was making his escape from the angry traders, another police officer, who was not part of the team involved in the fracas, also took to his heels on sighting the rampaging traders. The traders allegedly hit him with a heavy stone on his back and he fell inside a pool of stagnant water in the area.
Residents said that the fleeing policemen shot sporadically into the air as they made their escape from the scene.
Following the violence between the traders and the policemen, panicky residents of the area and traders scampered to safety, shutting down their shops in order not to be caught in the escalating violence.
Later, a team of armed policemen stormed the area and arrested a man said to have defended the police officer attacked by the traders. But scores of angry transport workers prevented them from whisking away the young man.
The wreckage of the burnt police patrol vehicle had yet to be evacuated from the scene of the violence as at Thursday.
Also, trading activities at the Akute Market has remained low keyed as most of the traders from the Northern parts of the country had been cautious about opening their stalls for business since the violent incident.
Heavy police patrol presence was also observed in the area.
The Ogun State Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Abimbola Oyeyemi, could not be reached on the phone.
A text message also sent to him was not replied as at the time of going to press.
