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Peace was Friday disrupted in Felele area of Ibadan as commercial drivers engage the police in a free for all.
The incident left in its toll, a policeman and a commercial driver seriously injured during a clash between some members of National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) and policemen said to be on patrol duty within the vicinity.
According to information gathered by The Nation, the two injured were presently receiving treatment in different hospitals in the capital city. They are said to be responding to treatment, contrary to speculations that the commercial driver was beaten to death by the police, which triggered the reprisal, Friday.
Sources privy to the scene of the incident explained that a clash had occurred at Felele Junction in Ibadan, Lagos-lbadan Expressway, on Thursday evening, and shortly thereafter, speculations pervaded the entire axis that policemen had beaten a commercial driver mercilessly and hit him with the butt of his gun, which led to the death of the driver as he was being taken to a hospital for treatment.
The commercial driver was said to have been driving his Micra cab on the highway when a police patrol vehicle surfaced behind him. As gathered, “the commercial driver did not clear off the road on time for the police vehicle to pass. In the process, a minor crash occurred between the police patrol vehicle and the Micra cab”, a source said
The policemen were said to have allegedly stepped out of their vehicle and pounced on the commercial driver, which made the other commercial cab operators in the axis gathered and attacked the policemen. A policeman and another driver were said to have been injured in the ensuing melee.
However, the whole axis was tension soaked, Friday morning and afternoon, as rumours went around the town that a commercial driver gave up the ghost in the clash between the NURTW members and police. Not long, the tension spread to other parts of the state including, Felele, Soka and Iwo Road Roundabout in Ibadan as there were unconfirmed reports of exchange of gunfire between the transport workers and the police.
Fele Reacts, Says ‘Police is Our Friend’
But the state’s Chairman of NURTW, Alhaji Taofeek Oyerinde, in a telephone chat yesterday, confirmed that the commercial driver did not die, saying a team of NURTW officials had visited the driver in the hospital. He also denied any altercation or exchange of gunshot between his men and the police.
He said, “The police are our friend. It was a little misunderstanding and we have resolved it. It is untrue that there were clashes between the police and our members in some parts of Ibadan today (Friday). It is also not true that NURTW members and the police engaged in a gun duel. The misunderstanding occurred on Thursday evening and it was resolved that same day.”
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Command, Mr. Adekunle Ajisebutu, a Superintendent of Police, also explained that the incident occurred as a fallout of a minor accident that occurred at Felele Junction between the police vehicle and the Micra cab.
He confirmed that a policeman and the driver were injured during the incident and they were taken to the hospital, saying “the driver did not die as being speculated. In fact, he is responding to treatment, and so is the injured policeman.”
He, however, did not confirm whether an arrest has been made in connection with the incident but assured that the police are on top of the matter.
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