A drunken police Sergeant, Stephen
James on Saturday shot dead three male customers at a hotel in the Ketu area of
Lagos State. Among the deceased were
twin brothers identified as Taiwo and Kehinde Oyesunle and their friend known
simply as Jeje.
The tragic incident; which happened
outside the premises of Paulson Hotel on Anibaba Street around 4:20pm, threw the
entire neighbourhood and its environs into chaos with passers-by and residents
scampering in different directions.
According to eyewitnesses, trouble
started when the police sergeant with Force number 217884, threatened to shoot
customers if they failed to buy him an alcoholic drink. The policeman, who was
said to be a habitual smoker of marijuana, however, felt offended after the
victims – Taiwo, Kehinde and Jeje – cautioned him to comport himself as an
adult and a responsible policeman.
The eyewitnesses said the policeman
ambushed and killed the three young men, who were in their early 30s, as they
stepped outside the hotel premises where they had gone to celebrate Jeje’s
birthday.
When the gravity of his act dawned
on him, the policeman reportedly shot himself in the chest.
The customer, who identified himself
only as Femi, said all efforts to pacify the policeman proved abortive as he
kept fomenting trouble and harassing visitors with his gun all afternoon.
“I was in the bar when the policeman
first came in and threatened to shoot customers if they failed to buy him
drinks. He boasted that he felt like killing someone today, but other customers
and I pleaded with him.
“When the three guys walked in and
sat, he went to them and threatened them too. But the guys told him to calm
down that they would take care of him but he should comport himself as a
responsible police officer.
“Nobody knew he took offence with
their statement. The police officer shot the three guys one after the other as
they stepped outside the hotel before killing himself. The whole thing happened
like a movie,” he said.
Another resident Ladipo Idowu told
our correspondents that the policeman was known to foment trouble in the area.
He said James usually fired his gun
indiscriminately and the residents had warned the hotel authorities to caution
him but nothing was done about it.
A former girlfriend to one of the
slain twins told Sunday Punch that they were the only children of their
parents. The lady, who was inconsolable as she spoke to one of our
correspondents, said the twins were still mourning the death of their father
who passed away in June 2014 when their lives were cut short.
Refusing to have her picture taken,
she said, “I called them very early on Saturday morning not to go outside their
compound after I dreamt of seeing blood. I called them again at about 2:00pm to
warn them. The twins, however, decided to drive a vehicle a relation had just
bought at about 3:00pm. They drove to Paulson Hotel.”
The Sports Utility Vehicle which the
victims drove was still parked in front of the hotel by the time our
correspondents left the scene.
An angry mob, which later gathered
at the scene of the tragedy, attempted to burn down the hotel and destroy
properties within its premises.
As irate youths threw bottles and
stones at the hotel, lodgers ran out of their rooms with their luggage and fled
the scene. As at the time of filing this report, the hotel had been completely
deserted by staff and guests.
The youths also wanted to burn the
corpse of the policeman, but policemen, who later got to the scene pleaded with
them.
Policemen led by the Divisional
Police Officer of the Ketu Police Station arrived at the scene at about 5.30 pm
to carry the corpses away.
The Police Public Relations Officer,
Mr. Joe Offor, confirmed the killings to our correspondents on the telephone.
However, he said he had not yet received the full details of the incident.
DSP Joe Offor said, “The policeman
was on duty at that hotel. He was attached to Mopol 22, Ikeja. He was drunk
while on duty and he acted under the influence of alcohol.”
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