Protesters block Lagos road as policewoman kills driver

Protesters block Lagos road as policewoman kills driver

Some operators of commercial buses popularly referred to as ‘danfo’ on Monday staged a protest in the Igando area of Lagos over the alleged killing of a colleague by a female corporal simply identified as Taiwo, a day before.

The bus drivers who were joined by youths in the area, blocked the Igando end of the Lagos State University – IyanaIba road with 3 buses while burning tyres and planks, and calling on the police to arrest the police woman believed to be responsible for the death of their colleague, Muyiwa Ijaduola.

According to Punch, the incident took place on Sunday around 2:30pm when Taiwo and another female corporal were in front of a Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) filling station in the Igando area, checking vehicles.

The 46-year-old driver, Ijaduola was stopped by Taiwo who allegedly demanded N500 from the driver. Ijaduola however offered only N300 which led to an altercation between them, during which the corporal allegedly pushed the driver into a gutter.

Ijaduola, a father of three, was said to have hit his head against the edge of the gutter in the process. The policewomen immediately fled the area afterwards, after which other motorists came to help the driver from the gutter and discovered that he was dead.

An initial protest staged by angry youths that evening at the Igando division around 6:30pm was allegedly dispersed by gunshots, while Ijaduola’s corpse was deposited by the police in a morgue.

Ijaduola’s elder sister, Lola Oluranti, said the police at Igando was yet to disclose to the family members where they deposited the corpse. They also called on the police authorities to investigate the incident.

The police has however denied claims that one of its officers was responsible for Ijaduola’s death. Deputy police public relations officer, DSP Damasus Ozoani, said “It was a case of sudden and unnatural death. The driver was suspected to have an epileptic attack at the bus stop while calling passengers into his bus. He consequently fell into the gutter. Two policewomen on traffic duty called sympathisers to help him out, but angry miscreants blocked the road, alleging that the policewomen killed the driver.

“Police patrol teams from Igando dispersed the miscreants and rushed the victim to a hospital where he was confirmed dead.”