A Senior Secondary School 2 student of Randle School, Apapa, Lagos, was felled by a stray bullet from policemen attached to Badia Division in Lagos, in an attempt by the latter to prevent a suspected kidnapper from being lynched by a mob.
Vanguard gathered that Ijora Badia axis was thrown into commotion, Sunday morning, following an alarm raised by some residents over attempt by a woman to kidnap a five-year-old girl at Giwa Street.
The suspect was beaten to a pulp and was at the verge of being set ablaze when a team of policemen rescued her.
However, some aggrieved youths were said to have stormed the station hauling stones and other dangerous objects at the policemen, demanding that the woman be handed over to them. In the process, the policemen were said to have dispersed the rampaging youths with tears gas canisters and also fired some shots.
Disaster strikes A resident, who simply gave his name as Timothy, said:
“The policemen chased the youths to Fadaini Road, inward Badia, shooting sporadically. In the process, a bullet hit a boy named Emmanuel, who resided at 7 Fadaini Street.”
The mother of the dead 16-year-old boy, Mrs Ijeoma Chukwu, told Vanguard that late Emmanuel was roused from sleep by the uproar. She added that he went out to have a glimpse of the kidnapper, when he was hit by the bullet.
She, however, lamented that since the incident, no policeman had paid the family a visit or invited any member of her family over to explain what happened.
‘They threatened to shoot me, too’ Speaking in tears, the Ebonyi State-born woman said:
“I left my children in the room to fetch water to cook and bath before going to church. When I came back, I was told that Emmanuel woke up on hearing the uproar outside. “While he went to have a glimpse of the kidnapper, his brother stayed in front of the building. The next thing I heard was shouting from a young man that Emmanuel had been shot dead.
“I ran out like a mad woman to the station and demanded to see my son. But I was ordered to leave there or have same fate befall me. I have been there thrice, but was not allowed to at least see my son’s body. “The incident happened since Sunday.
Yet, no policeman has visited to explain what happened to my son. His body is still with them. My husband is on his way back from a burial ceremony.” However, when the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Chike Oti, was contacted, he stated that he was not aware of the incident.
Emeh Achanga,the CEO of the Miss Petite Nigeria Brand is a lawyer turned blogger. She is very passionate about writing, with several publications and awards to her credit .She is currently working on publishing a collection of short stories which are basically a memoir about her exciting true experiences.
