The operation left four policemen dead, two battling to stay alive at the Igando General Hospital and six AK47 rifles missing. The vandals, who attacked with pump action rifles, went away with the corpses of the four policemen.
This was even as fresh facts emerged that the team was not really the IG’s team as the policemen claimed, but Anti- Vandalism Task Force, based in Lagos. Eleven members of the team embarked on the operation.
It was learnt that the vandals attacked the policemen after they threatened to arrest a female member of the gang following a disagreement over alleged N10 million bribe allegedly demanded by the cops.
The task force went to Igando Police Station, to book for the operation, posing as the IG’s Monitoring Unit from Abuja. According to a police source, Arase became angry when he was informed that the team impersonated his Monitoring Unit. After the bloody clash, Arase was said to have ordered a preliminary investigation, insisting he did not authorise any such operation.
The preliminary investigation showed that the policemen were on illegal duty. As of yesterday, the four corpses of the slain policemen were yet to be recovered. The vandals were said to have dragged the corpses into the river after felling them with bullets from their pump action guns. Two policemen are still in Igando General Hospital, battling to stay alive.
The vandals, numbering over 20, including women, made away with the six police rifles. The DSP, a Sector Commander, Anti-Vandalism Task Force, Lagos, identified as Expression Omoego, had been arrested and detained by policemen attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) in Ikeja, Lagos State Police Command.
Arase has also further instructed that SARS operatives take over investigation of the case until further notice. Meanwhile, a police sergeant, attached to the Igando Police Station was picked up yesterday. Investigations revealed that the policeman might have been arrested on the suspicion that he is a member of the vandals.
The police source said: “It’s clear the task force team wanted to make quick money. They never knew things would turn out this way. As the IG’s Monitoring Team, they can embark on any operation, but not without the IG signing the petition or authorising them to go. Thus they posed as IG’s Monitoring, fooling policemen at Igando Police Station.”
-New Telegraph
