The Lagos State Police Command has clarified that the officers involved in the incident that led to okadamen (commercial bike riders) killing one person were on illegal duty. It was also noted that they had been detained.
Furthermore, the police authorities said the dead was not a policeman, but a civilian.
Recall that a video, showing some okadamen repeatedly riding their bikes over the body of a dead man, had gone viral.
Commenting, some people had said the dead man was an officer, prompting a reaction from the state police command.
The Command, through Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said the video does not show a police officer.
Rather, he said, the victim was a civilian deployed by two police officers to carry out an illegal duty.
In a tweet on his official X page, Hundeyin said: “Two police officers attached to the Lagos State Task Force on Wednesday, June 19, 2024, went on illegal duty, taking some civilians with them to shore up their number.
“They came under attack from motorcycle riders, resulting in the death of one of the civilians.
“While disciplinary actions have commenced on the already detained police officers, and a search is on for their civilian accomplices.
“Investigations have commenced to identify, arrest, and prosecute the perpetrators of this dastardly act.”
In the video circulating online, a man is lying on the ground with blood gushing out from his body, while some bike riders repeatedly rode over his body.