Gunmen in police uniform kill two in Lagos

No fewer than two persons were yesterday shot dead by unidentified gunmen in police uniform at Daleko, in Mushin area of Lagos. One of the victims, a foreigner identified as Mr. Santos Korie, was said to be driving along the road when the gunmen struck, shooting him on the chest and killing the other instantly.
Korie died on his way to a nearby hospital. National Mirror also gathered that a number of people were equally injured in the confusion that followed.
As at the time of filing this report, it could not be ascertained whether the gunmen were hired assassins in police uniform or real police officers as alleged by eyewitnesses.
However, the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Ngozi Braide, said seven persons have so far been arrested in connection with the incident by operatives of the Special Anti- Robbery Squad, SARS, GRA, Ikeja.
It was gathered from eyewitnesses that the assailants had, in a commando style, stormed the area in a commercial bus and shot sporadically into the air. They afterwards aimed at Korie, who was hit in the chest.
Confirming the incident, Ngozi said efforts are being made to ascertain whether the gunmen were police officers or not.
According to her, the command through the Commander-in-charge of Area ‘D’, Mushin, Mr. Omololu Bishi, received a distress call over the killing before he led officers and men to the crime scene.
She said upon the arrival of the officers at the scene, eyewitnesses told the Area Commander that the gunmen were dressed in police uniforms and that they operated in a commercial bus.
She said seven persons had been arrested in connection with the incident; adding that the arrested men had been transferred to the detectives attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, SARS, of the Lagos State police command.
Braide said when the information filtered in, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Umar Manko, ordered that the assailants be fished out with a view to knowing their identities, particularly as they were alleged to have operated in police uniforms.
Her words: “Recently, gunmen operating in military and police uniforms have been involved in one violent crime or the other and the Lagos State Command is not leaving any stone unturned in dealing decisively with any fake uniformed officer.”
The police commissioner, however, appealed to members of the public, especially the victims’ families to remain calm and peaceful as he vowed that the perpetrators of the dastardly act would be brought to book.