Mob sets banks ablaze as policeman ‘kills’ tanker driver (updated)

A mob has reportedly set ablaze buildings of two banks – Sterling and Diamond – located in Apapa, Lagos, after a policeman attached to one of the banks allegedly shot dead a tanker driver.

The fracas reportedly began when the unidentified mobile policeman objected to the parking of a tanker in front of the bank.

The driver was said to have refused to move the tanker, which led the mobile policeman to shoot sporadically into the air.

ThisDay reports that one of the pellets hit the driver who bled to death at the scene of the incident.

Angered by the incident, the mob, most of which were said to be the driver’s colleagues, reportedly set the bank on fire and also the nearby bank building when they learned that the policeman was hiding there.

An eyewitness, Omega Male, gave a slightly different account of the incident on his Twitter handle.

Male said three tanker drivers were shot dead.

Happening Now!

3 tanker drivers shot dead by mobile policemen stationed at Diamond bank branch in Creek Road,Apapa.

— Daddy Z³ (@Ifedoh) July 19, 2017

In retaliation,other tanker drivers have set same bank on fire. As I tweet this,the sterling bank beside it is on fire too.

— Daddy Z³ (@Ifedoh) July 19, 2017

Another eyewitness told PM news that other banks in the area, especially those on Warehouse Road, have closed down for business to avoid any attack from the mob.

Security operatives, including anti-riot policemen, have been deployed to the area to quell the crisis.

Meanwhile, Sterling Bank, in a statement, gave an account of the event.

According to the bank, the mobile policeman had run into its building while fleeing from the irate mob.

The bank said although its security operatives disarmed the policeman, they did not hand him over to the mob.

The statement said the mob got infuriated by their inability to get a hold of the policeman, and thereby resorted to “unleashing mayhem on staff and customers” before setting the reception area of the building ablaze.

“An armed mobile policeman fleeing from an irate mob after shooting a tanker driver disrupted banking operations at the Sterling Bank branch on Creek Road this morning. He ran into the premises of the bank to escape being lynched,” the statement read.

“Security operatives attached to the bank disarmed and arrested the fleeing mobile policeman but did not hand him over to the irate mob.

“The mob got upset and attacked the bank with the intention of unleashing mayhem on staff and customers. The branch’s reception area was vandalized and set ablaze.

“The security operatives attached to the branch prevented the mob from entering the branch while evacuating staff and customers before the arrival of police reinforcement. The branch has been temporarily shut down.”