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Kirikiri area of Lagos, was yesterday, thrown into pandemonium,
following attempt by a mob to lynch some naval personnel whom they
accused causing of the death of a conductor attached to a truck driver.
The deceased was reportedly crushed by the truck he was attached to,
while the driver, Ibrahim Salima, was reportedly running away from
naval personnel stationed at the Kirikiri bridge, by Tokunbo car park
road, to control the perennial gridlock.
There were, however, different accounts to how the tragedy happened. A
version of the account, alleged that naval personnel stationed there
usually collect N500 from truck drivers who wait on the queue to get
petroleum products from jetties, daily.
How truck conductor died
However at about 9am yesterday, Salisu was said to have refused to
part with the amount, an action that was taken as affront by the naval
ratings. One of them was said to have chased the moving truck, in the
process of which he allegedly dragged the motor boy, identified as Abass
Kasali, out.
Unfortunately, Kasali reportedly fell right under the truck and was crushed by the moving truck.
Another version of the account, said when the truck driver sighted
the naval rating approaching, he reportedly jumped into the truck
started the ignition, with a view to vacate the illegal parking spot.
In the process, the conductor followed suit, but reportedly missed his
steps and fell right under the truck, causing the tyres to run over him.
A third version also had it that the truck had a break failure and
in the driver’s bid to control it, it rammed into a commercial
motorcyclist, killing him on the spot.
The incident reportedly sparked off a protest, as an angry mob
reportedly descended on the naval rating. Some of his colleagues who
were on their way to work reportedly stopped to rescue him from the
angry mob. But they were reportedly overpowered.
It took the combined efforts of armed military men, including the Police to quell the situation.
Eye witnesses said: “The man was sitting down here (pointing to a
position) when the tanker driver approached him to come and work with
him, explaining that his real motor boy was ill. It was not up to two
hours that we saw him struggling with a known naval personnel who
usually comes around to collect N500 from all tanker drivers. By this
time, the driver had veered off his lane in a bid to move. In the
process, he hit a car with the number plate BX 941 ABC and a
motorcycle with plate number KSF342 QE.
“Along the line, the rating succeeded in dragging the motor boy down
from the truck. Unfortunately, he fell and had his head crushed by the
tyres of the truck and died instantly.
“A mob held the naval personnel hostage and locked him inside a shop
until the arrival of his colleagues who came and rescued him. Tanker
drivers and their conductors started protesting the death of their
member. But the Navy condoned off all routes leading to their barracks
and shot sporadically to wade off the protesters.”
When Vanguard arrived the scene, blood stained as well as
particles suspected to be the deceased’s skull were sighted on the
spot. The incident worsened the traffic situation in the area, as
vehicles remained stand still position for the better part of the day.
However, when this reporter attempted to take shots of the scene,
some men in plain clothes who identified themselves as naval personnel
apprehended this reporter. Her phone was seized, as she was whisked into
a waiting van, to a place where some uniformed naval personnel were,
with threat from some of them to beat her up. It took the intervention
of some officers of the ranks of Lieutenants to free this reporter from
the the ratings.
Petroleum tanker drivers react
National spokesman of the Petroleum Tanker Drivers,PTD branch of the
Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers, NUPENG, Adebayo
Akande said, the deceased was yet to be identified at the time of
filing this report.
Akange also said the group had got in touch with the Naval Base in
Satellite Town, noting that investigation into the cause of the death
of the conductor was still ongoing.
“The Navy has also commenced its own investigation and both groups
will compare notes at the end of the exercise,” Akanga said, informing
that the outcome of the investigation would determine the association’s
next line of action.
Naval sources speak
Efforts to reach the Commander, Nigerian Navy Ship, NNS WEY, whose
jurisdiction controls the point, failed as he was not in the office when
Vanguard called. But Naval sources debunked allegation that
the ratings were extorting money from tanker drivers. Rather sources
stated that the Ratings were stationed there to control the flow of
traffic.
Naval sources said: “The Navy is not responsible for the death of the
conductor as alleged. And the Navy does not collect dues from tanker
drivers. The dues is between the tanker drivers and the designated
union Task Force.
“When the incident happened, our men were held hostage by a mob and
in the process, they sustained injuries. Even when a reinforcement went
for their rescue, stones were hauled at them, with the mob threatening
to kill at least one of our men. What we did was to fire warning shots
into the air to disperse them and nobody died as a result of the bullets
fired.
“The area is calm now. Driver of the truck , Ibrahim Salima, has
been arrested by the Police. We did not lose any of our personnel as
widely rumoured. The Commanders NNS Beecroft and NNS WEY were at the
scene to get on the spot information.”
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