Soldiers Torture Lagos Lawyer

Soldiers deployed to guard the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation pipelines in Festac town allegedly tortured a Lagos-based lawyer, Olajide Sipe, and shot him after he challenged them for causing traffic.

The soldiers who reportedly left their duty post to control a fuel queue at the Mobil filling station on 23 Road attacked Sipe, after he accused them of exacerbating the traffic on the road.

the soldiers had blocked a section of the road when they stopped a commercial bus on the road. Olajide was said to have advised one of the soldiers to park the bus by the roadside to free up the gridlock they created.

But angered by the lawyer’s seeming effrontery at telling them what to do, the soldiers reportedly mounted a motorcycle and began to chase him. It was said that they shot at him, but the bullets hit the car’s back tyres.
They were said to have waylaid him on 72 Road, where they tortured him until he became unconscious.

Sipe told the Punch that his only offence was to have advised the soldiers.
“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.

“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.”
He said he pulled up and came down to pacify them, adding that the men pounced on him.

A witness who asked not to be named told the Punch the soldiers would have killed the lawyer but for the intervention of a senior military officer.
“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.”
The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, adding that the police had started investigations.

She said, “We got a report that one Olajde Sipe, who lives in FESTAC Town, was attacked by four unidentified men in army uniform on 72 Road, FESTAC Town.  Efforts are ongoing to trace the alleged soldiers.”
The Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Lt. Col. Kingsley Samuel, said the army had got in touch with the victim and was making efforts to apprehend the culprits.
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.”