The police in Lagos have launched a
manhunt for an Assistant Superintendent of Police, identified simply as
Mohammed, who allegedly shot dead a tricycle driver, Akeem Aranse,
during an argument in the Shasha, Akowonjo area.
Mohammed, who is attached to the Disaster Management Unit of the
Department of Operations, Lagos State Police Command headquarters,
Ikeja, moved out of his apartment on Unity Close, Egbeda, shortly after
the incident,Punch reports.
Mohammed had boarded a commercial motorcycle(okada) which was hit by the
tricyle operator on Kareem Laka Street in the Egbeda area.
It was gathered that the incident led to an argument which degenerated into the killing of the tricycle driver by the ASP.
Eyewitnesses explained that some passersby had tried to settle the skirmish but the police officer remained adamant.
The officer was said to have eventually brought out his pistol and shot the tricycle driver.
Thirty-one-year-old Akeem, who was said to have been shot in the chest, reportedly died on the spot.
Our Punch correspondent learnt that the matter was reported to policemen at the Shasha division.
When Punch Metro visited Akeem’s rented apartment on Nusiratu Street,
Akowonjo, on Saturday, his tricycle was seen parked outside the house,
while friends and neighbours still discussed the incident.
His elder brother, Sulaimon, said Akeem was planning to visit his wife
and only child in Ibadan, Oyo State, when he was killed. He added that
the death was a shock to the family.
He said,
“We had been living together in this house since he was a boy.
We both came from our hometown in the Itesiwaju Local Government Area of
Oyo State to work in Lagos. He used to visit his family in Ibadan every
three weeks. He was planning to go again this weekend when the tragic
incident occurred.
“I was at a friend’s place when I was called about the incident. It was
very shocking. Akeem did not have a record of street fighting or
violence. He was said to have apologized to the police officer, who was
not in uniform, but the man still shot him. The police have taken his
corpse to a morgue in Yaba.
“The extended family members would be expecting him in Ibadan, but we have told his wife about the incident.”
Punch correspondent gathered that the police had gone to the ASP’s house, but all efforts to get him had not yielded any result.
