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Soldiers render lawyer hospitalised over traffic conduct

Sipe, a lagos based lawyer, was assaulted by men of the Nigeria army, who were coordinating traffic in Festac Town.

Nigerian military officers

Soldiers from 7th Avenue, FESTAC Town, in Lagos State, have rendered a lawyer identified as Olajide Sipe, hospitalised and in critical condition because he advised them on how to properly conduct traffic.

The soldiers who committed the brutal act, were deployed to guard the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) pipelines in the area.

On Tuesday, April 26, 2016, they were reported to have left their assignment and headed to Mobil Filing Station, also in Festac, to coordinate traffic.

It was during this that, Sipe, who was returning from a short errand, advised them on how to properly coordinate traffic.

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This however angered the soldiers, who chased the lawyer on a motorcycle and shot at his car tyre.

According to Punch, the soldiers waylaid him on 72 Road, where they tortured him, which rendered him unconscious.

Olajide, who is married with a child, narrated that he was returning from where he went to buy bottle of water for his family when the incident happened.

“I went to buy bottles of water for my family and on my way back, I got to Mobil Filling Station and I discovered there was traffic, which was caused by a bus on the road.

“A solider stood in front of the bus and was telling the driver something. I was in my car when I advised him that he could have asked the driver to park by the roadside, instead of inconveniencing other road users.

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“He asked who I was to advise him. I told him I was only trying to give a solution, but he started drawing closer to me with his gun. I was alarmed.

“Another officer stood at the front of my car and started kicking one of its headlights. He had a jerrycan in his hand with which he smashed my windscreen. As I drove off, I saw that they had become four and had mounted a motorcycle and were chasing me. I was afraid.

“When I got to 7th Avenue, I made a U-turn, but because they were coming with speed, they couldn’t do that. I looked back and saw one of the soldiers, kneeling down and aiming his gun at me. He shot at my car twice. The bullets deflated the two back tyres.”

According to a witness, it took the intervention of a senior military officer to stop the soldiers from killing the man.

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“What caught people’s attention were the gunshots. They used planks to hit his head and one of them carried a big stone to smash his skull.

“He was stabbed two times in the body. One of them wanted to use a dagger to cut him when a military officer, who was passing by, intervened."

"He showed them his ID card and that was when they left him. As they were going, they vandalised his car.”

Punch reported that the victim was taken to Mercy Gate Hospital for treatment.

Dr Solomon Ekundayo, who is the Medical Director of the hospital explained that Sipe sustained serious injuries from the incident.

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Lt. Col. Kingsley Samuel, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, confirmed the incident.

According to him, the army has contacted the victim and are looking to arrest the culprits for assaulting the lawyer.

He said, “We are in touch with the victim and he has given us the details of what happened. We have started our investigations and will ensure that the culprits are punished. Nobody is above the law.”

The unlawful intimidation of innocent civilians by men of the military has been an age-long menace in a Nigerian that is yet to get over the military era.

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