People in Oremeji, which is in the Shasha area of Alimosho Local Government in Lagos State, were scared on Sunday, November 9, when street kids stabbed a Nigerian Air Force officer.
During a visit to the area on Saturday, community sources told our reporter that the incident started when the officer, who was “not in uniform” at the time, got into a fight with young boys at a football ground, according to The PUNCH.
A local named Baba said, “Some youngsters were playing football on Oremeji Street here in Shasha when the ball hit the man, who was not wearing a uniform.
“Nobody knew he was a cop.” He tried to grab the ball and hit the youngster who kicked it. People begged him not to hurt the youngster, but he did, while others tried to stop him from doing additional damage.
“When he saw a crowd forming, he pulled a knife out of his pocket. He stabbed the ball and said that if anyone touched him, he would stab them. During the process, some of the boys who were trying to stop him got hurt.
“A fight broke out, and one of the boys got the knife and stabbed him. No one knew he was a cop yet. They hurried him to the hospital, but we found out later that he didn’t make it.
Another resident, who said his name was Sola, said, “Air Force officers stormed the area.” While looking for the youngster and his family, they beat up other people. They came from the Shasha base.
“Everyone in the community is scared right now. Since then, everyone in the region has been scared, and the cops aren’t doing anything.
People in the community have complained that the event has continued to inspire fear, even spreading to the Orisumbare area.
Eniola, a resident who only gave her first name, claimed that business owners now close their stores early because they are afraid of what will happen if they don’t.
She remarked, “Since the event, we have been afraid, and shop owners now close much earlier than we thought they would.” And this happened after the Air Force officials came on the second and third days to beat people up and take them away at random. The folks who did it ran away from the community, and now the innocent people are the ones being punished.
Esther Komolafe, another resident, reported that the soldiers who were there to get back at the people who attacked their friend used tear gas the next day.
“We were going along the road when we observed people rushing about in all directions. We came closer to the exact place before we realized that the Air Force officers had used tear gas. The area is still tight as I write this, and we don’t go that way anymore after dark.
But Abimbola Adebisi, a spokesperson for the Lagos State Police Command, told our reporter over the phone yesterday that the officer is still alive, even though some people said he had died.
Adebisi said, “Some people got into a fight, and after the fight, they found out that the person who got hurt was an Air Force officer.” He got hurt, but no one died. The DPO went to the scene, but no one was there to greet him, even though the issue was not reported at the station. He then identified the hurt cop and said that he had gotten medical care and was still alive.
Adebisi added, “The claim that Air Force officers have been bothering people is not true,” in response to rumors that Air Force members had been bothering citizens. There is nothing like it.
The DPO and community leaders stepped in last Wednesday when some of the officer’s coworkers tried to get back at him, and the problem was rectified. The Air Force Commandant also took part in a round-table meeting, and the area has been calm since then.
Also, yesterday, it was impossible to reach Air Commodore Ehimen Ejodame, the Nigerian Air Force’s spokesperson, on his cell phone. As of the time of this report, he had not responded to WhatsApp messages sent to him for clarification.
This is not the first time that people and military officers have fought violently. In 2021, Premium Times claimed that there was a lot of disturbance in Oshodi as soldiers attacked the area “to avenge the death of an officer of the Nigerian Air Force, who was allegedly mobbed to death by hoodlums.”
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