A viral video has emerged of a group of soldiers torturing a lawyer because he allegedly accused them of causing gridlock on the 7th Avenue, FESTAC Town, Lagos State.
The victim, Olajide Sipe, was driving home in his Toyota Camry car on the fateful day but got stuck in a gridlock caused by the soldiers who stopped a bus along the road.
He was said to have advised one of the soldiers to park the bus by the roadside to ease the already formed traffic jam.
He drove off after the advice only for the soldiers to reportedly engage him on a hot chase with their motorcycle and shot at him but fortunately, the bullets hit his back tyres.
It was gathered that the soldiers waylaid the victim on 72 Road, where they tortured him, until he passed out.
Narrating his ordeal to Punch, the married father of one from Ogun State, said his only mistake was that he advised the soldiers.
He said, “I went to buy bottles of water for my family and on my way back, I got to Mobil Filling Station and I discovered there was traffic, which was caused by a bus on the road.
“A solider stood in front of the bus and was telling the driver something. I was in my car when I advised him that he could have asked the driver to park by the roadside, instead of inconveniencing other road users.
“He asked who I was to advise him. I told him I was only trying to give a solution, but he started drawing closer to me with his gun. I was alarmed.
“Another officer stood at the front of my car and started kicking one of its headlights. He had a jerrycan in his hand with which he smashed my windscreen. As I drove off, I saw that they had become four and had mounted a motorcycle and were chasing me. I was afraid.
“When I got to 7th Avenue, I made a U-turn, but because they were coming with speed, they couldn’t do that. I looked back and saw one of the soldiers, kneeling down and aiming his gun at me. He shot at my car twice. The bullets deflated the two back tyres.”
A source who witnessed the incident but preferred anonymity for security reasons, said the officers would have killed the lawyer but for the intervention of a senior military officer.
He said, “What caught people’s attention were the gunshots. They used planks to hit his head and one of them carried a big stone to smash his skull.
“He was stabbed two times in the body. One of them wanted to use a dagger to cut him when a military officer, who was passing by, intervened. He showed them his ID card and that was when they left him. As they were going, they vandalised his car.”
Residents of the area rushed Sipe to a private hospital an the area known as Mercy Gate Hospital where he was given an urgent medical attention.
The Medical Director of the hospital, Dr Solomon Ekundayo, said the victim sustained serious injuries.
He said, “When he was brought in, he was in a bad state; he had lacerations in the head, including one that was very deep. He was also traumatised, while his face was drenched in blood.
“We had to admit him and do everything possible to stabilise him and suture the lacerations. We will still need to investigate and ascertain the state of his internal organs. Injuries like this can affect the liver and other organs of the body and even the brain. We also plan to do a CT scan of the brain to find out the extent of the injuries to his brain.”
Confirming the incident, the Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, said the force has launched an investigation into the matter.
She said, “We got a report that one Olajde Sipe, who lives in FESTAC Town, was attacked by four unidentified men in army uniform on 72 Road, FESTAC Town. Efforts are ongoing to trace the alleged soldiers.”
Additionally, the Deputy Director, Army Public Relations, Lt. Col. Kingsley Samuel, said the army had contacted the victim and are making efforts to apprehend the culprits.
He said, “We are in touch with the victim and he has given us the details of what happened. We have started our investigations and will ensure that the culprits are punished. Nobody is above the law.”
Watch the footage below:
