Police bullet kills girl, injures another in Lagos

The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Command, Tijani Fatai, during a condolence visit to the family of Omole Taiwo, the girl killed in the Ajegunle shooting, on Saturday. Photo: Lagos Police

The Lagos State Police Command has detained an Assistant Superintendent of Police, Omotayo Olajide, after his firearm discharged during an operation in Ajegunle, killing a girl and injuring another.

According to a statement issued on Saturday by the command’s Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, Olajide discharged his firearm during the operation, hitting the two girls.

The incident occurred on Thursday, November 5, between 9.30 pm and 10 pm, in the Nosamu area of Ajegunle, during a police response to a clash between two rival groups, identified as the Nosamu Boys and Alayabiagba Boys.

“Preliminary findings show that the personnel had been deployed after a distress call about a violent clash between two rival groups, the Nosamu Boys and the Alayabiagba Boys, over toll collection. The groups were reportedly armed with cutlasses and other dangerous weapons.

“During the operation, ASP Olajide discharged his firearm, and the bullet struck the two girls. Both girls were rushed to Ajeromi General Hospital. One was later transferred to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, where she gave up. The other child is receiving medical attention and is in stable condition,” the police said.

The police identified the deceased as Omole Taiwo.

The command said Olajide had been disarmed and detained, while the case had been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department for investigation.

“The inquiry will establish exactly what happened and determine the appropriate legal and disciplinary action,” the statement said.

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The Commissioner of Police, Tijani Fatai, visited the bereaved family to offer condolences and assured them that the investigation would be thorough.

He also pledged that no officer found culpable would be shielded.

It remains unclear from the police account whether the officer deliberately fired at the rival groups, whether the girls were caught in the line of fire or whether the firearm was discharged unintentionally.

The latest incident comes years after a similar fatal shooting in Ajegunle in April 2019, when 20-year-old Ada Ifeanyi was killed and a man, Emmanuel Akomafuwa, was injured.

The PUNCH reports that Inspector Dania Ojo was declared wanted after the incident, while five other police officers were arrested. Ojo was subsequently dismissed after an investigation found him guilty of abusing his authority and using his firearm unlawfully.