Two civilians yesterday sustained fatal injuries as a result of gunshot wounds after they were hit as a result of a clash between soldiers and policemen, at the popular Tombia Roundabout, in Yenagoa, Bayelsa state capital.
The two civilians identified as Ariweri Taralayefa, a female, aged 29, and Omonopeno Oturu, a male, aged 38, had been taken to the hospital where they were receiving adequate medical attention.
Investigations carried out by Africa Today News, New York on the matter revealed that the clash arose from a misunderstanding over a traffic offence committed by a soldier who was on mufti.
A witness said that some members of the Bayelsa State Vigilance Service, at the Tombia Roundabout had stopped a white Toyota Hilux van without registration number, driving against traffic, and ordered the driver to go back.
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The driver, who apparently was a soldier in mufti, shouted at the vigilance operatives, demanding to know who gave them the order to enforce traffic laws and refused to go back, leading to a heated argument.
‘There was an ensuing heated argument and one of the policemen attached to the vigilance service slapped him (traffic offender) twice for challenging them after breaking traffic laws. It was at that point that the traffic offender introduced himself as a soldier, and promised to deal with the policeman and the vigilance operatives. When the policemen realised he was a soldier, they pleaded with him, but he left only to come back in military uniform with two of his colleagues,” the source said.
All hell was let loose at the return of the assaulted soldier and his colleagues, as they pounced on the policemen with the butt of their rifles.
Findings revealed that the two injured civilians were at the Federal Medical Centre, Yenagoa, where they had been stabilised after receiving medical attention.
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Commissioner of Police, Ben Nebolisa Okolo, has appealed for calm, noting that the police and military authorities have launched an investigation to unmask the identities of the soldiers.