for advising them to clear traffic gridlock on
a road
– Festac community is thrown in a state of
panic following the savage attack on
barrister Sipe by the soldiers
– Residents accuse the soldiers of
abandoning their duty post and carrying
out extortion
For Lagos bases lawyer, Olajide Sipe, the
thought that he would be in critical condition
a day to his birthday was a nightmare he
never saw coming, but after being tortured
by some soldiers on the 7th Avenue, Festac
Town, his nightmare came to past.
Barrister Olajide Sipe lying on the hospital
floor unconscious after he was brutalised by
Soldiers in Festac.
Barrister Sipe’s nightmarish experience
began on Tuesday, April 26, when he was
driving home in his Toyota Camry after
purchasing bottles of water for his family.
He encountered a gridlock at Mobil filling
station on 23 Road where some soldiers had
abandoned their duty post to guard the
Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation
(NNPC) pipelines in the area were
coordinating motorists queuing for fuel on at
the filling station.
On seeing that one of the officers had
stopped a bus on the road, the
lawyer advised the soldier to park the bus by
the roadside to free up the gridlock created.
But rather that see sense in Sipe’s advice,
the officer became enraged that a civilian
had the audacity to tell him to do the right
thing.
As Sipe drove off, the soldiers reportedly
mounted a motorcycle and began to chase
him. It was said that they shot at him, but
the bullets hit the car’s back tyres . They
were said to have waylaid him on 72 Road,
where they tortured him, rendering him
unconscious.
Eye witnesses said that but for the timely
intervention of a retired commodore who
stopped his car and restrained one of the
soldiers from cutting Sipe with a jackknife,
the barrister could have died from the
savage attack.
windscreen of Olajide Sipe’s vehicle was
smashed by the soldiers.
Following the deployment of the soldiers in
the area after bank robberies and the
vandalism of the NNPC pipeline, residents in
Festac, particularly 7th Avenue have seen
their rights abused by gun wielding soldiers
who have displayed little restraint when it
comes to using brute force.
One of such cases occurred last month
when some soldiers abandoned their duty
post and stormed the Forte oil petrol station
at 21 Road to coordinate motorists queuing
to buy fuel, in the process, the soldiers used
their bayonets (Knives) and punctured the
tyres of vehicles they felt were violating
traffic. Some persons who came on foot to
buy fuel were reportedly whipped by the
overzealous officers.
While it is understandable that the
deployment of the soldiers is meant to
protect the NNPC pipelines in the area, some
residents in Festac have called on the
authorities to check the excesses of the
soldiers who are often said to abandon their
duty post to assist to coordinate motorists
queuing for fuel at various filling stations in
the area for money.
This is in addition to accounts of extortion
said to be carried out by the soldiers
from motorcyclists and bus drivers.
An Okada rider who spoke to our
correspondent under the condition of
anonymity said he does not take any route
leading to 7th avenue in the evening to avoid
being and extorted by the soldiers.
Another source who also spoke under the
condition of anonymity lamented that the
soldiers had cultivated the attitude of delving
into civil matters that doesn’t concern them.
He said recently the soldiers pounced on
two boys who were having an argument and
instructed them to sweep a blocked
drainage, threatening to deal with them
decisively if they failed to adhere.
Following the complaints by some residents,
our correspondent visited the Festac police
station to find out if cases of soldiers
brutalisation has been reported to the
division. The officers on duty who
acknowledged that Sipe’s case was reported
to the division however said the case of the
barrister was the first to be reported at the
division.
But a senior police officer noted that most
times where soldiers are deployed to civilian
areas, cases of confrontation with civilian
population often arise. He said in saner
climes, the military is expected to be under
civil authority, but expressed the hopes that
as Nigeria’s democracy progresses the
military will become more amenable to civil
rule.
When asked if the deployment of the
soldiers had benefits to Festac, he said
since the troop’s deployment to the area,
crime rate along the notorious 7th avenue
had dropped drastically.
He added that prior to the soldier’s
deployment, vandals with sophisticated
weapons often prowled the area. Explaining
that the vandals were also responsible for
the bank heist at 4th avenue. He said such
brazen robbery incidence had stopped since
the troops were deployed to combat them.
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