Christopher Oji

A policeman yesterday shot dead a girl in the Adamo area of Ikorodu, Lagos, during a raid.

The killing of the trader sparked off heavy protest as youths in the area gave the patrol team a hot chase, forcing the police to abandon their vehicle and flee the scene. The youths seized the patrol vehicle and set it ablaze.

A witness, Ben Ndakat, told Daily Sun that policemen from the Imota Police Division had stormed the Adamo area on an evening raiding of suspected criminal hideouts.

Ndakat said, as some suspected hoodlums were running away for fear of being arrested by the police, the cops started firing at the suspects but a stray bullet hit young lady.

“The killing of the girl sparked off serious protest from an angry mob who chased after the policemen who fired randomly to scare people away and they escaped but abandoned the patrol vehicle. The mob set the vehicle ablaze.

“I wonder the type of training the police authorities gave to their policemen; how could they be firing in the midst of people? They should have known that those who they were chasing were using innocent people as shield. I watched how the girl, who was on her own, slumped and died after being hit by the bullet.”

The command’s public relations officer (PPRO), DSP Bala Elkana, confirmed that a girl was shot dead: “Yes, a young girl was shot dead by a policeman from the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence, Panti. I don’t want to preempt their motive to the area, but I believe they were there on surveillance. The policeman who fired the shot is in our custody. We are investigating the matter,” he said.º