The Lagos police command has confirmed that one of its men shot dead a Nigerian queuing to buy fuel at a filling station.
The man killed is named Toheeb Eniasa who, along with others, opposed the policeman and one of his colleagues who wanted to force their way into the filling station.
It was learned that the chaos started while motorists and residents in the area struggled to purchase fuel at the petrol station belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited at Obalende area of Lagos State on Wednesday evening.
According to an eyewitness, trouble started when the police officers drove into the station to buy petrol while many others were on the queue to buy the scarce product.
“The actions of the armed officers were met with stiff resistance from people who had been waiting in the queue for over five hours. The deceased Toheeb Eniasa was one of the people who spoke loudly against the officers asking them to join the queue like everyone else.
“Quickly the verbal confrontation degenerated into a fisticuff. One of the men shot the young man and immediately fled the incident scene leaving the area in disarray.”
According to Lagos Police Spokesman, Benjamin Hundeyin, the killer policeman behind the shooting is one of their officers serving at Lion Building in Lagos.
He said: “The person behind the shooting has been identified as a police officer serving at Special Protection Unit (SPU) Base 17, Lion Building, Lagos. Investigation is still ongoing and further findings will be made available. Meanwhile, the Lagos State Police Command is working with the family of the deceased to ensure that there is no miscarriage of justice.”