coder There was pandemonium in
Ejigbo area of Lagos yesterday, as a young man was hit by a stray bullet from operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad, who went to arrest suspected
kidnappers.

It was gathered that the police operatives, acting on tip-off
that some kidnappers were hiding in a building on Oboye
Street, stormed the area at about 2p.m.

However, some suspected members of Eiye cult group,
reportedly converged in front of the compound to prevent
the policemen from arresting the suspects.

Sensing danger, the policemen opened fire and in the process
a stray bullet reportedly hit one
of the youths in the area.

An eyewitness said police operatives, after dispersing the
crowd with the gunshots, succeeded in picking their
targets.

A resident, who gave his name simply as Fatai, said: “They
arrested the Eiye striker, the number two man, a woman
that sells local gin and another man popularly called Pastor.”

After the arrest, suspected cultists and hoodlums attempted to march to the Ejigbo Police Division, where
the suspects were taken to. But the move was prevented by some elders in the area, who said such action could implicate innocent persons.

News went round that the boy that was shot died. But Friends Base gathered that he was rushed to an undisclosed hospital.

A source said the policemen were attached to the Anti-
Kidnapping Unit, and that their action was a proactive measure to nip activities of
criminals in the bud.

Meanwhile, the Command’s spokesman, Olarinde Famous-Cole, told Friends Base that the gunshot victim did not die as
rumoured, “but at the hospital and responding to treatment.”