Ogun: Labourer Killed as Soldier Opens Fire at Demolition Site

A military operative on Monday reportedly shot dead a labourer with the Ogun State Government, Oluwaseyi Adeoye, during a demolition exercise at Orile-Imo along the Sagamu–Abeokuta Expressway.

It was gathered that officials and labourers attached to the Ministry of Physical Planning and Urban Development had stormed the company to pull down some illegal structures.

Witnesses told Daily Trust that the team, led by one Mr Hamzat from the ministry, met a brick wall as some military operatives on the ground resisted the planned demolition.

In the process, it was learnt that tempers flared, leading to a clash between the soldiers and labourers who were acting on the directive of the team leader to pull down some structures.

In a fit of anger, one of the military men allegedly opened fire on the labourers, and the bullet hit Oluwaseyi, who reportedly died on the spot.

“They actually wanted to kill everyone, but we had to scamper for safety,” Makinde Ibrahim, one of the labourers, told Daily Trust.

He said, “When we got to the site, the team leader engaged the engineer on the ground who begged, but he insisted that the demolition must be carried out.

“He ordered us to pull down three coaches. But one soldier barked at us and asked us to leave. However, the team leader insisted that we must carry out the demolition.

“We were accompanied by seven police officers, but they couldn’t do anything.”

The remains of the deceased have been deposited at the State General Hospital morgue, Ijaye, Abeokuta.

Speaking with newsmen, Chairman of the Concrete Dealers Association, Kolawole Obadeyi, blamed the team leader for the bloody clash.

“We have been working with the ministry for decades, and usually there will be clashes at sites, but I have the team leader to blame in this case.

“When they got there and discovered there were soldiers at the location, they ought to have retreated. Most times, what ought to have happened is to call for more reinforcement so that the demolition will not turn bloody. We have been working with the ministry for about 38 years now.

“It was shocking that we lost Oluwaseyi because of a N10,000 daily job. He only went out to earn a living. This is unfortunate.”

Obadeyi called on the government to give adequate compensation to the deceased’s family.

“We would like to know what the government will do for his family as compensation for the life lost. We don’t want a situation whereby the body will be buried and nothing will come from the government,” he said.

Army spokesperson at the 35 Artillery Brigade, Alamala, Samuel Odere, told our correspondent that he had not been briefed about the incident.

But the Police Public Relations Officer, Oluseyi Babaseyi, confirmed the incident in a telephone interview with Daily Trust.

“I can confirm that someone attached to the Ministry of Planning was shot dead. I can also confirm that an investigation is ongoing to get to the root of the incident.

“That’s all I can confirm. Every other thing, investigations will unravel with time,” he said.

Commissioner for Physical Planning and Urban Development, Tunji Odulami, described the killing as unfortunate.

He said the government has reached out to security agencies to fish out those behind the act.

“Right now, we are reaching out to all the security agencies around to adequately identify them and who they are. They can’t just come from the moon; they need to identify them and then follow due process to ensure that they get to the root of the matter.

“But more importantly, that such a thing does not happen again,” he said.

While commiserating with the family of the deceased, he promised that the government plans to compensate his family.

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