Police And Hoodlums Clash In Lagos.

The Ikorodu expressway in Lagos came alive again, Saturday, when armed police officers clashed with rampaging youth at the Owode-Onirin area.

The youth were protesting the alleged fatal shooting of two men by police officers on Friday.

The two allegedly shot by the police were among those trying to escape when police raided a known black spot where Indian hemp is sold and smoked at the Owode area. Two other fleeing men jumped into a nearby canal.

It was gathered that while the youth protested on Saturday the killing of their members by the police, the officers fired live bullets at them, fatally wounding three.

Ngozi Braide, the spokesperson of the Lagos State Police Command, however, denied the claims that police officers had shot and killed two men attempting to evade arrest.

“The trouble started yesterday (Friday) when police officers from the Owode-Onirin Division went for raiding of blackspots,” Ms. Braide told PREMIUM TIMES over the phone. “On sighting of the police, the men took to their heels. Two jumped into the canal and got drowned while they were trying to evade arrest. This morning, some hoodlums tried to burn down the police station but they didn’t succeed.”

But witnesses said that there was no attempt to burn down a police station, rather the youth were protesting the shooting of one of them.

Ms. Braide insisted that the police “did not shoot anybody.”

“They said that two people drowned but we have not seen any corpse. We have arrested 25 of the hoodlums and are currently undergoing investigation,” she added.

Last week, rampaging soldiers attacked BRT buses along the Ikorodu road. The soldiers were allegedly protesting the killing of their colleague by a BRT bus driver.