Over 100 suspected hoodlums assaulted a police station in the Ipaja area of Lagos State on Thursday morning.

 

Eyewitnesses suggest the incident was linked to a police crackdown on motorcycle riders in the area.

 

An exchange of gunfire ensued, but police officers repelled the attackers, causing bystanders to flee for safety.

 

State police spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin told Channels Television that the attackers were Okada riders retaliating against an enforcement operation by the police.

 

Hundeyin added that officers at the Ipaja division mounted a strong defense. He did not confirm if there were any casualties.

 

The spokesman noted that normalcy had been restored as multiple police units were deployed to the area.

 

Read the full police statement:

 

**POLICE REPEL ATTACK ON STATION, ARREST ASSAILANTS**

⁃ impound over two hundred motorcycles

 

Officers of the Ipaja Police Division successfully repelled an early morning assault on their station by motorcycle operators.

 

The attack followed the police’s enforcement of the existing motorcycle ban in Lagos State. The attackers, numbering in the hundreds, stormed the station with dangerous weapons, firing at officers and attempting to overrun the station.

 

While the division’s officers held their ground, reinforcements from the Area Command and Rapid Response Squad (RRS) arrived. Two attackers were fatally injured during the incident.

 

This did not deter the officers, who impounded over two hundred motorcycles and arrested several attackers, retrieving one locally made firearm.

 

The Lagos State Police Command remains committed to enforcing all laws and maintaining law and order.

 

SP BENJAMIN HUNDEYIN, anipr, mipra

POLICE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

LAGOS STATE COMMAND

IKEJA

 

MAY 27, 2024