Hoodlums murder NAF personnel, protest presence of soldiers in Oshodi

The hoodlums vandalised vehicles and protested the presence of soldiers.

Commuters and traders were terrorised by the hoodlums.

A soldier lost his life

Hoodlums went on a rampage in the Oshodi area of Lagos State yesterday, making commuters and traders around the Mosafejo area scamper to safety.

The riotous hoodlums, who vandalised vehicles, were protesting the presence of soldiers attached to the Ops MESA at the bus park in Oshodi.

The soldiers were in the park to meet the National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) chairman following the murder of a non-commissioned officer (NCO) of the Nigerian Air Force (NAF).

The unnamed Airman was killed on Monday and his body dumped on top of the pedestrian bridge.

The deceased soldier who was plain-clothed had boarded an Ikorodu-bound vehicle when suddenly a fracas broke out at the park between bus operators and passengers.

He was said to have intervened in the fracas in a bid to restore peace but was killed in the process.

His body was left on of top the bridge until the following day when passersby saw and evacuated it to a nearby mortuary.

The soldier’s colleagues who were worried about his sudden disappearance were said to have made enquiries and discovered his last seen position was at Oshodi.

“The soldiers then went round nearby morgues and eventually saw him. He was moved to NAF mortuary. So, the authorities asked Ops MESA to go to the park and find out from the chairman what happened that day. They were also directed to find out those responsible for the murder of the Airman.

“But as soon as the area boys saw Ops MESA approaching the park, they became riotous and were shouting that soldiers have come to arrest their chairman. That was what happened,” a trader told journalists.