Two people have been killed after Airforce operatives clashed with some Igbo traders at the Popular Ladipo auto spare parts market in Lagos.
It was gathered that operatives attached to Operation (OPs) MESA were in the market in response to a distress call that a soldier was assaulted by some hoodlums.
The operatives on getting to the Paramo section of the market where the incident was going on, attempted a retaliatory attack on the hoodlums that attacked the soldier but were resisted by traders. They released warning shots and in the process, two people were hit by stray bullets.
However, NAF’s Director of Information and Public Relations (DOPRI), Air Commodore Edward Gabkwet, said that the operatives were only responding to a distress call that a Soldier was having a disagreement with a trader.
He told Nation; “Firstly, NAF personnel did not kill anyone. Moreover it was one person that died not three. The information we have at the moment is that the NAF operatives who are attached to OPs MESA received a distress call that a soldier was having an issue with a debtor.”
“So, they moved in to restore peace but as soon as some of the traders saw them, they started attacking them. They threw stones at them and destroyed the windscreen of the patrol vehicle.”
“They attacked a soldier and seized his pistol.”
He said the soldier retrieved the pistol and attempted to fire a warning shot to free himself from the crowd but ended up killing one of the traders.
Below are photos from the scene made available to POLITICS NIGERIA;
