Spokesperson for the state command of the NSCDC, Kehinde Dada, told our correspondent simply that there would be a post-mortem on the bodies of Gabriel Ajaji and Innocent Akegbe.
But she said she could not reveal much since the case was being handled by her superiors at the headquarters in Abuja.
Ajaji and Akegbe, who were officers in the Anti-Vandalism Squad of the NSCDC, lost their lives after a successful raid and arrest of some suspects at a site of an NNPC installation in Ikorodu.
The convoy of the NSCDC officials had an encounter with policemen at a checkpoint around Isawo, Ikorodu between 12 midnight and 3 am.
The result was the death of the two civil defence officials and the gunshot injuries of five others.
The aftermath of the violent attack has been claims and counter-claims from both the NSCDC and the Lagos State Police Command.
According to a statement by the NSCDC headquarters in Abuja, the police ambushed and opened fire on the two operatives while they were returning from a successful anti-vandal operation.
The statement claimed that the vandals arrested by NSCDC officials during the operation “made calls to their police collaborators for support.”
The NSCDC stated, “Immediately the police got wind of the information, they laid siege to the NSCDC officers and opened fire on the patrol vehicles, killing two officers.
“Others scampered to safety with gunshot wounds as the vandals were released immediately by the police.
“When the patrol team of the corps noticed that it was the police that were firing, they did not return fire.”
In their defence, the police maintained they had no idea of how any NSCDC official was killed since their men were the victims in the said encounter.
A statement issued on Wednesday by the spokesperson for the police command in the state, Ngozi Braide, said, “At about 1.45 am, there was a distress call from DM security PPMC, Mosimi that they were experiencing a drop in the pressure on the pipeline.
“The unit commander in charge of Konu immediately pulled out his men under Inspector Sunday Gabriel to proceed to the scene.
“As they were approaching, they heard sounds of heavy gunfire in their area of pipeline coverage and the team leader instructed his men to proceed to that direction as it could be the activities of vandals. “Upon arrival, they saw a group of Civil Defence Corp members coming out from the direction where the shooting was earlier heard. The NSCDC men challenged the policemen who were about four in number on what their mission was in the area, saying ‘it was their sole responsibility (Civil Defence) to guide and protect pipelines.’
“At this juncture, there was an argument between the NSCDC and the police and the most senior NSCDC officer, DSC Olufemi, ordered his men, who were about 14 in number, to disarm, arrest and handcuff the police team leader and the other members of his team.
“The NSCDC succeeded in disarming and handcuffing Inspector Gabriel and collected his service pistol, walkie-talkie and I.D. card. As they were about dragging him into one of their standby Hilux vehicles, a phone call was put to the police Unit Commander reporting the incident.
“The NSCDC still has in its custody Gabriel’s pistol and his identity card showing his force number, 120622.”
The statement indicated that investigation into the matter had commenced.
A ranking police officer at the state Criminal Investigation Department said a ballistic test, which would be carried out as part of the police investigation, would determine who is speaking the truth.
The officer, who preferred not to be named, told Saturday PUNCH, “This matter is simple. Everybody will continue to blame the police and because the NSCDC needs someone to blame for the death of their men, they too will continue to tell the world the two men were killed by policemen.
“But why continue all the allegations when a simple ballistic test on the bullets recovered from the bodies of the two officials can be tested and see if it belonged to a police gun? Let the NSCDC cooperate with our investigation and the truth will come out.”
Braide did not pick calls placed to her mobile phone in order to confirm where and when the ballistic test would be carried out.
Our correspondent also learnt that the ballistic test is high on the agenda of the NSCDC. This will be conducted after the post-mortem, a source with the corps told our correspondent.
Meanwhile, the bodies of the slain NSCD operatives have been deposited at the Military Hospital mortuary, Yaba, pending the post-mortem.
The injured officials are also receiving treatment at an undisclosed hospital.
PUNCH
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