Commuters were stranded as a result of the protest embarked upon on Wednesday by the commercial drivers operating along Lagos – Abeokuta Expressway.
It was reliably gathered that some operatives of the Lagos State Task Force had earlier stormed the Abule-Egba and Ijaiye areas in the Ifako-Ijaiye Local Government Area of the state on enforcement duty when some unknown persons confronted them with dangerous weapons.
The task force operatives allegedly shot at the hoodlums suspected to be transport workers and gunned down two of the hoodlums. The ensuing confrontation caused a scare as commuters and traders in the areas scampered for safety.
The chairman of the task force, Yinka Egbeyemi, confirmed the incident but denied that his men gunned down any of the hoodlums.
According to him, some hoodlums came in three buses to attack some of his men and they also faced them.
The Chairman said: “We got the information from the National Union of Road Transport Workers and our men confronted the hoodlums. We have also arrested them and they are in our custody.”
Meanwhile, commuters were seen in their droves trekking to their destinations as danfo drivers refused to operate after the incident. A commuter, Lanre Obabiyi, claimed that he started trekking from the Abule-Taylor Bus Stop and heading towards Salolo in Meiran.
He said, “I was so scared when I heard the gunshots that I had to run inside a bank at the bus stop. Other people also ran inside. We were all there for about 20 minutes before we came out. Right now, I started trekking from Abule-Taylor Bus Stop heading to Salolo in Meiran.” Another commuter said, “I have been trekking from Abule-Egba and I am still going to Tollgate. This is causing unbearable pain and discomfort for commuters. The task force and the drivers should sort out whatever issues they have with each other.”
