A
group of soldiers of Ekiti State origin who had just completed their
recruitment training attacked some policemen in Ekiti on Thursday.
The
soldiers stabbed a policeman, Corporal Abdulkadir Yakub, with a jack-knife. An
eyewitness said Yakub, a Traffic Police Officer, was attacked after he
challenged the soldiers for extorting money from motorists and causing
gridlock. It
was learnt that Yakub sustained deep cuts in his head and buttocks and also
lost much blood.
The
young soldiers, who were 17 in number, were said to have just returned from the
Governor’s Office, where they had gone to visit Governor Ayodele Fayose. But it
was learnt that the governor was not around to receive them.
The
soldiers took to the streets and stopped vehicles at the Fajuyi Roundabout to
extort money from motorists and motorcyclists.
A
police officer, Corporal Monday Agom, who was on duty with the victim when the
incident occurred at about 2pm, said Yakub was attacked by the soldiers after
he pleaded with them not to cause gridlock during their alleged extortion.
Agom
said, “One of the soldiers stopped a man in mufti, who happened to be a
policeman, right in his car and demanded his car key, while Yakub was trying to
pass him to allow for the next person in line, so as to free traffic, which was
already building up.
“Yakub
then explained to him (the attacker) that the man he stopped was a police
officer and that he should allow him to go as stopping him there would cause
traffic.
“This
statement infuriated the soldier, who immediately slapped Yakub, before
bringing out a jack-knife, with which he started stabbing him.
“Then,
I joined other people to rescue Yakub from the soldier, who had started
shouting, ‘I will kill you, idiot,’ even as his colleagues (soldiers) had
started punching Yakub, who was already soaked in blood.”
The
mobile policemen, whose station was close to the scene, were said to have
mobilised to the scene and attacked the soldier in return.
It
was learnt that one of the soldiers also sustained head injuries in the fracas.
The
Officer in Charge of Army Operations in Ekiti, Captain Joshua Zoaka, who went
to the scene, was not spared in the attack.
His
team was said to have been attacked with tear gas by the policemen.
Another
eyewitness confirmed that Yakub had been on duty, controlling traffic, before
the soldiers came around 2pm and started stopping motorists and passersby.
The
witness said, “I saw them when they were jogging to the Governor’s Office,
singing. I also saw them when they were returning. They came back and rather
than go their own way, they stopped at this junction (Fajuyi Roundabout) and
started stopping everybody, including commercial motorcyclists and motorists.
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