Mother, two kids injured in Lagos task force raid

A female commuter and her two children were injured on Wednesday during a raid by operatives of the Lagos State Task Force in the Idimu area of Lagos State.

Eyewitnesses told PUNCH Metro that the task force officials stormed the Powerline area of the community around 10 am to seize motorcycles.

The riders, however, fled their parks to avoid arrest, causing chaos in the area. In the ensuing melee, our correspondent learnt that a rider carrying the woman and her two kids attempted to escape, but rode carelessly, causing them to fall off the motorcycle.

The victim, who gave her name as Folashade, told PUNCH Metro she was heading to her place of work when the incident happened.

She said, “I was heading to the shop with my two male kids. We left Powerline and were moving towards the Council bus stop when we saw other motorcycles riding past us and shouting, Task Force! That was when our rider increased speed and suddenly entered a mechanic workshop to connect to the other side. It was at that point that I fell off the motorcycle. Despite falling, he still did not wait as he continued, leaving my kids hanging on to him. It took the intervention of some of the mechanics who rushed to rescue them from the motorcycle.”

Our correspondent observed that some Good Samaritans were administering first aid to her as her legs and hands were bruised during the incident.

Another eyewitness who identified himself simply as Jaiye, lamented the action of the officials, said the raid was the second in two days.

“They carried out the same raid yesterday (Tuesday) and the most painful part is that this route is not on the list of restricted routes in the state. The accident the woman had could have been fatal if not for God because the rider was only concerned about escaping.”

The task force spokesperson, Raheem Gbadeyan, could not be reached as calls made to his phone were not responded to. A text message sent to him had yet to be replied to as of the time this report was filed.

PUNCH Metro reported that there was apprehension on Tuesday after police officers clashed with motorcycle riders in the Isheri area of Lagos State.

It was learnt that the incident happened at about 8:30 pm while the policemen said to be attached to the Idimu Police Station were attempting to seize motorcycles belonging to the riders.

The motorcycle riders were however said to have resisted the officers thereby resulting in a clash.