Seventeen soldiers of Ekiti State origin who have just completed their training went on the rampage in Ado-Ekiti on Thursday,attacking some policemen.
They allegedly stabbed a policeman, Corporal Abdulkadir Yakub with a jack-knife.
Yakub is currently on the danger list at the Police Clinic, Okesa, where he was rushed to after the attack.
Six other persons who were injured during the attack have been discharged from the hospital.
The ‘sin’ of Yakubu, a traffic police officer, was that he challenged the soldiers for causing a traffic snarl while extorting money from motorists.
He was subsequently stabbed by one of the soldiers in the head and buttocks.
The young soldiers, who were in army uniform, were said to have visited the Governor’s Office to pay a courtesy visit to Governor Ayo Fayose after completing their training in Kaduna.
Sources said the governor was unavailable to receive them.
From the Governor’s office,they allegedly moved into nearby streets,stopping vehicles at Fajuyi Roundabout with a view to extorting money from motorists and motorcyclists.
Yakub’s colleague, Corporal Monday Agom, who was on duty with the victim when the incident occurred at about 2.00 pm, said Yakub was attacked by the soldiers after asking them to refrain from causing traffic gridlock during their alleged extortion.
Agom said: “I was with Yakub at the Fajuyi Roundabout where we were deployed to control traffic. The ‘recruits’ were returning from the Governor’s Office and on getting to the point where we were controlling traffic, they stopped and started harassing motorcycle riders and motorists for money.
“One of the soldiers stopped a policeman who was in mufti right in his car and demanded the car key, at the point Yakub was trying to signal to move.
“Yakub then explained to soldier that the man he stopped (Boboye Oluwakorede) was a police officer and that he should allow him to go, as stopping him there would cause hold-up.The statement infuriated the soldier who slapped Yakub, and then brought out a jack-knife with which he started cutting him on several parts of the body.
“I then joined other people to rescue Yakub from him.By then,the soldier was shouting , ‘I will kill you, idiot; I will kill you, idiot” even as his colleagues (soldiers) also joined punching Yakub who was already soaked in blood.”
Another eye witness confirmed Yakub had been on duty controlling traffic before the soldiers arrived and started stopping everybody.
The witness said: “I saw them when they were jogging to Governor’sOffice, singing, and when they were returning.
“They came back and rather than go their way, they stopped at this junction (Fajuyi Roundabout) and started stopping everybody, including okada riders and drivers.
“At a point one of them started arguing with a traffic warden and soon brought out a sharp knife to cut the warden. At that point, I ran to another place to hide myself, but I saw some people trying to hold the soldier’s hands.”
Confirming the incident, Police Public Relations Officer, Mr. Alberto Adeyemi, a Superintendent of Police (SP), said the incident had been reported to the Brigade Commander of the 322 Field Artillery Regiment in Akure, Ondo State.
Adeyemi said: “The soldiers, numbering 17, who were Ekiti State indigenes, had just returned from a recruitment exercise in Zaria, Kaduna state and were in Governor’s Office for possible assistance from the governor.
“They chose to make some money by stopping motorists at the Fajuyi roundabout, during which an argument arose with traffic wardens on duty, one of whom they stabbed with a jack-knife.
“However the situation is under control as the Brigade Commander, Akure Division, was contacted and has come to pick up the recruits to face possible departmental questioning and sanctions.”
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