THERE was pandemonium in Akure, Ondo State capital, on Wednesday as commercial motorcyclists, popularly called Okada riders protested over the killing of their colleague by an officer of Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corp (NSCDC).
It was gathered that the office of the NSCDC rammed into the Okada on Tuesday evening leading to the death of one of the three men on the motorcycle at the State Hospital on Wednesday morning.
TribuneOnline, however, gathered that the death of the deceased led to protest by the Okada riders who mobilised themselves and disrupted activities at the hospital.
According to a source, most of the protesters vowed to deal with any official of the NSCDC over the death of their colleague but for the timely intervention of the Senior Special on Special Duties to the state governor, Mr Doyin Adebowale.
Adebowale assured the aggrieved Okada riders protesters that the state government would take over the burial of the deceased and the hospital bill of the injured men.
However, it was learnt that the Okada riders took the protest to the NSCDC office where a woman who was hit with a bullet and died instantly
This also sparked off violence while some hoodlums took over the protest blocking all major roads and later took the protest to the ever busy Oja Oba market.
The protesters who blocked the road, burning tyres on the popular Oba Adesida road hindering free-flow of traffic for almost three hours.
The protesters were said to have hijacked one of the taskforce vehicles and used the vehicle to carry the corpses of the deceased to the governor’s office in Alagbaka-Akure.
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A source explained that “there was an accident involving an Okada man and an NSCDC officer on Tuesday but the Okada man was taken to the hospital but the man died at the hospital. But when the family learnt that he had died, they went and carry the corpse at the hospital. That was how the protest began.”
Confirming the incident, the Public relations officer of the NSCDC, Mr Oladipo Samuel, explained that the Civil defence officer who killed the Okada rider on Tuesday evening was not from FCT Abuja command.
He said, “ The officer involved in the accident was our man serving at the national headquarters in Abuja, he took the victims to the hospital and paid the bills but unfortunately one of the victims died this morning (Wednesday) but the death of the Okada man led to protest
“But the protest was hijacked by hoodlums and they were coming to our office. So immediately we mobilized our men to the place to forestall breakdown of law and order”
However, the state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO) Mr Femi Joseph, confirmed that the two people were killed saying one of the victims was hit with a bullet at the office of the NSCDC.
Joseph said the one that was involved in the accident on Tuesday died at the hospital while one died during the protest.
“We are yet to identified the victims but since it is an inter-security agencies matter, we shall definitely investigate and bring whoever found culpable to book and we will also ensure normalcy return to the town.”
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