No fewer than five persons have been reportedly killed and several others injured during an operation by anti-narcotic officers of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency in the Partey area of Lagos Island.
A source in the area, who did not want to be named, alleged that the officers stormed the area on Saturday morning and shot indiscriminately, killing some residents in the process.
One of the affected residents was said to have been shot in the head.
The source, who identified the deceased as Saheed, Fashola and one other known as Eleshe, said, “They (officers) came at some minutes past 8am. They killed six people. Two of those killed were a water vendor and a man on a motorcycle. A child, who would not be more than seven years old was hit and taken to a hospital. They raided several areas and arrested people.
But the Director of Media and Advocacy, of the NDLEA, Femi Babafemi, said he was not aware of the incident.
“I’m not aware of any of such,” the NDLEA’s Babafemi, told our correspondent on Saturday.
The agency, in a statement on Saturday titled, ‘NDLEA raids Lagos Island drug den, arrests kingpin, 6 others; recovers 5,862kg drugs,’ said a major drug kingpin operating the notorious Patey Lagos Island drug haven, in Lagos State, one Mrs Sherifat Kehinde Lawal, was arrested along with six other suspects by its operatives while 5,862 kilograms of assorted illicit drugs, including “Loud and Codeine” were recovered in a raid on Saturday.
It explained that Lawal and six of her accomplices were arrested at 9:30am, following credible intelligence and follow-up surveillance on “illicit drug dealing in Osho, Gambari, and Beecroft Streets, Patey Area of Lagos Island”.
“Other members of the cartel operating in the axis, however, mobilised hoodlums who attacked the operatives with stones, bottles and guns in a bid to prevent the officers from arresting other kingpins marked for arrest as well as taking the suspects already nabbed and drug exhibits away. The operatives were able to tactically defend themselves, and took the suspects and exhibits away.
“Other suspects in custody with Mrs Lawal include Ahmed Yisau, Solomon Alape, Olayemi Akinola, Salami Qudus, Bakare Rafiu, Rose Samson, Yusuf Rofiat, and Chukwudi Egon.”
But when asked what the agency meant when it said its “operatives were able to tactically defend themselves,” Babafemi said, “They (officers) withdrew from the scene because they (hoodlums) were going to kill them. There were three kingpins marked for the arrest. Because of the action the boys, two escaped. If we had engaged them, maybe it would have been a different thing.”
