Police kill two petrol hawkers in Festac Town

By OKOSUN DENNIS

As the fuel scarcity bites harder, tragedy struck on Wednesday at Festac Town in Lagos as a team of police men and civil defence personnel killed two petrol black marketers.

The task force made up of police and civil defence officials killed the marketers at the Forte oil petrol station also known as AP bus stop located a 21 Road I close.

As a result of the shooting, vehicles that queued up waiting to be served hurriedly left the scene due to the sporadic shooting at the Forte oil petrol station.

It was further learnt that trouble started, when some black marketers resisted the task force officers who were seizing petroleum products from road side vendors and giving them out free to motorcycle riders.

When the security agents got to Forte oil petrol station, they became overwhelmed by
several black marketers and touts hence they began to shoot sporadically to disperse the crowd, and in the process killed two of them.

ALSO SEE: Fuel scarcity and matters arising

The resultant effect was the hullabaloo while passersby scampered to safety as the police men intensified their shooting prowess.

Angered by the conduct of the security officials, some touts tried to set fire to the petrol station as a means of venting their anger, but this made the police and civil defence officials to fire more rounds of ammunition into the air to disperse the angry crowd.

One black marketer named Shina was hit in the buttocks by a stray bullet, while others
persons suffered various degree of injuries in the process of running to safety.

Attempt to confirm development from the Lagos state police spokesperson, Superintendent Dolapo Badmos was not possible as she did not answer her call.

A call also put to the spokesperson Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC) Lagos state Command, Mr Mefor was not successful as his phone was said to have been switched off.