9th August, 2022
The immediate past General Officer Commanding (GOC) 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Maj.-Gen. Umar Musa, on Tuesday, give more details on the incident that led to the death of a police officer, SP Orukpe Monday.
Trouble started on Thursday, Aug. 4, when some soldiers and some policemen engaged in a fight near Ojo in Lagos State, leading to the death of Monday.
The soldiers were on their way to attend a training program at the Ojo Military Cantonment when the bus transporting them encountered mild traffic around the Trade Fair area of the Lagos Badagry Expressway.
The soldiers, upon realizing that the traffic was caused by policemen trying to pave the way for a truck driver to link the expressway, came down from the vehicle to challenge the policemen, leading to an argument and fight.
Giving details today, Musa said that preliminary investigations revealed that the police officer shot at the soldier during the altercation which clipped him in the ear but narrowly missed his vital parts.
Musa gave the clarification while handing over to the new GOC, 81 Division, Maj.-Gen. Obinna Ajunwa, at the Division’s Headquarters on Victoria Island.
He said; “The other soldiers reacted to the shot fired by the police officer and this led to their beating the policeman to death.
“We have paid a condolence visit to the Commissioner of Police to tell him that we will take necessary measures to prevent future occurrences of such nature.
“The injured soldier is in the hospital receiving treatment and investigation is ongoing to ascertain the next line of action to be taken.”
Speaking further at the event, Maj.-Gen. Musa advised the personnel of the division to give the new GOC the necessary cooperation needed so that the division could move to greater heights.
“I urge you all to be loyal, dedicated, and redouble your efforts to surmount the current security challenges the country is facing.
“We are all aware of how threats are spreading all over the country and we are doing our best to ensure that we curtail all these activities.
“I assure the civilian populace that the army is doing its best to ensure that the country remains peaceful,” he said.
Musa encouraged the media to continue to give correct reportage and publicity concerning the activities of the Nigerian Army so that the bandits would know that they were being subdued.
Also speaking, the new GOC, Maj.-Gen. Ajunwa said that he would strive to identify the security gaps in the state and deploy strategies to mitigate them.