A team of the Lagos State Taskforce killed Olasunkanmi Bello, a driver at Buildwell Construction Company, and injured other company staff in the Costain area of Lagos on Tuesday.
Other workers injured were Joshua Elemah Sunday and Franklin Alonge, who were also drivers.
According to a source, who asked not to be named, the incident happened about 8 am at Costain Roundabout, opposite National Theatre, when the officers were attempting to impound a vehicle belonging to the company.
The operatives were accompanied in a small white bus by thugs holding sticks.
Company workers protested against the action of the officers. This created a rowdy and unruly scene.
As they were trying to run away from the scene, the officers ran over Bello and knocked down his colleagues.
“It was about 8 am, members of the Lagos State Taskforce came around and were trying to impound a vehicle, which belongs to Buildwell Construction Company,” the source said.
“Some workers protested against them so as not to take away with the vehicle. Some thugs were on their team. In a bid to escape from the growing crowd, they killed Bello and knocked down others.
“Sunday and Alonge were knocked down but did not die. After knocking them down, they ran over Bello with their vehicle. He died shortly after that. Aside from these people, others got bruises on their bodies.
“The construction is willing to take it up legally to seek justice. It is high time the Lagos government looked at the activities of the taskforce. We don’t know their jurisdiction or how they are mandated to operate.
“The matter has come to a head and the state needs to urgently act. Rather than combat crimes, this taskforce operates brutally and many times kills innocent people and instigate violence.”
“They [the taskforce officers] have killed this man,” said one man in the clip. Another man said, “Yes. They hit severely him down.”
When contacted if he was aware of the killing, Gbadeyan Abdulraheem, the director of press and public affairs for the taskforce, told FIJ that he would investigate it.
“We have to investigate when they come back from the field,” Abdulraheem said. He asked the journalist to send more details about the incident to him on WhatsApp.
The taskforce checkmates the activities of illegal transporters and street urchins in the state. But it has developed a reputation for killing and brutally attack people in the course of carrying out its operations.
Many times, the taskforce’s operations had prompted violence and tensions in some parts of the state. For instance, a taskforce team took the life of Toheeb, a truck driver otherwise known as Girisi, at a public garage in Mile 2 in September 2023, after trying to get a bribe from him.
Toheeb’s colleagues protested his killing, creating tension and the immediate deployment of multi-agency security teams to the area.
