Two die as military officers clash in Lagos

There was confusion on Sunday morning after two military officers, identified as Hilary and Sheu Abdullahi, died after a brutal clash.The incident happened at a popular night club on Pen Crescent, Apapa area of Lagos.

The PUNCH learnt from a reliable source that Hilary, a corporal in the Nigerian Army, had gone to the club with his girlfriend who was donned in a military outfit.

The source said, “The bouncers at the club stopped the lady and challenged her, asking if she was a soldier. But Hilary asked why they would question his girlfriend in his presence.

“Abdullahi, a naval officer, who was equally at the club with his girlfriend, came out to intervene. After listening to the bouncers, he told Hilary it was wrong for his girlfriend to wear a military uniform when she was not one. That was how Hilary left the bouncers and decided to tackle Abdullahi.”

Another source said that the fight began after Abdullahi slapped the soldier’s girlfriend for disrespecting him.

He said, “The soldier was angry and went after the naval officer. He stabbed him with a jackknife and he died on the spot.”

The Abdullahi’s colleagues, after getting wind of the situation, mobilised to the scene.

It was learnt that in retaliation, the men pounced on Hilary, and beat him to a pulp.

The affray was said to have escalated after the soldier gave up in their hands.

A resident was said to have made a distress call to policemen at the Apapa Police Division who arrived the scene on time to prevent further bloodshed.

The Deputy Police Public Relations Officer, ASP Lelma Kolle, while confirming the incident, said the police made two arrests at the scene.

He said, “Yes, the incident happened. Actually, two people died. We received a distress call from someone that there was a situation at the club and we instantly rushed to the scene. We were able to bring the situation under control and prevent further loss of lives. It was just unfortunate that by the time we got there, the two officers had died. But the police arrested two military officers in connection with the incident.”

He added that the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department, Yaba, and the corpses of the slain officers, deposited in the mortuary.