A yet-to-be-identified policeman has shot a man dead in Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.
The deceased, Mr Yemi Ajayi, 32, was shot dead in a Toyota Camry car during an encounter with the police.
The Nation gathered that a team of policemen from Testing Ground Area Command was at Iwo Road interchange when the car conveying Ajayi was passing.
According to an eyewitness, the policemen drove an Oyo State branded patrol car.
They were said to have flagged down Ajayi’s car for a routine check but one of the policemen began to drag the steering with the driver, Kayode Atanda, believing he did not want to stop.
The eyewitness recalled that the policeman, who was believed to be drunk, fired a shot at the driver who sustained an injury in his arm.
The bullets, however, hit Ajayi in the stomach, killing him shortly after.
Ajayi sat in the front passenger seat. He was immediately rushed to police clinic at Testing Ground Command where he was later pronounced dead.
The eyewitness said: “I was here when the incident happened. He was about to open the car door when the drunk policeman shot him.
“All the three policemen were drunk. I think government needs to put end to this unreasonable killing.”
An elder brother to the victim, Sola Ajayi, told our correspondent the deceased was the breadwinner of the family, pointing out that Ajayi’s death will badly affect his family and leave his aged mother in anguish.
On getting to the police station, Sola Ajayi said only the driver was rushed to the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan for treatment.
He prayed the arm is not amputated in the end.
He said the Assistant Area Commander explained to him that the incident was a mistake, adding that the man who killed his brother had been detained at Iyagaku Area Command.
He alleged that police have even abandoned the injured Atanda at the UCH.
He demanded justice for the victims, saying “my brother must not die in vain.”
When contacted on phone, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Olugbenga Fadeyi confirmed the incident, saying the State Command had commenced investigation into the matter.
Fadeyi said: “A team of ACPOL Agodi on routine patrol at Iwo Road interchange on 09/07/2020 at about 12:15 pm stopped a Toyota Camry car which was alleged to have refused to stop and in the process, one of the policemen fired a shot which hit one Adeyemi ‘m’ in the stomach and was rushed to police hospital, Agodi for treatment but was later confirmed dead by the medical personnel. Investigation had commenced into the incident.”

By Segun Showunmi