There was unrest at the Benin-Asaba Expressway, by Iguomo Junction on Wednesday, February 28, 2024, when a stray bullet hit and killed a resident of the area.
The stray bullet was said to have been from a trigger-happy policeman.
It was gathered that the victim, whose identity was yet-to-be disclosed, was hit by the stray bullet in front of the house of a Point of Sale (PoS) operator where he had gone to send ₦4,000 to his wife in his village.
According to a source in the area who preferred not to be named in this report, police operatives were in the area to arrest some hoodlums when the incident happened.
He said, “Some Benin boys had an issue with the police and policemen stormed the area to make some arrests. In the process, they fired their guns at the fleeing boys and the bullet hit the victim and he died on the spot.
“The victim was said to have just transferred the sum of ₦4000 to the wife. When he heard of the commotion outside, it was said that he decided to run for cover, only to be hit by a stray bullet.
“Being that the entire area is populated by non-indigenes, they came out in large numbers, and blocked the road in protest. They even vandalised some police vehicles that passed the area this (Thursday) morning.”
The irate youth, who were armed with sticks and machetes, erected barricades and set bonfires on the highway and ensured that no one had access to either side of the road on Wednesday to protest the killing of one of them.
The blockade left commuters stranded, with passengers forced to disembark from buses arriving from both the Asaba and Benin City directions.
Meanwhile, as at the time of filing this report, normalcy was said to have been restored in the area.
Edo State Police Command spokesman, SP Chidi Nwabuzor, who confirmed the incident, said investigation was ongoing to identify those involved in the operation.