The Lagos State Police Command apprehended three individuals as an intoxicated hunter accidentally shot and killed a 14-year-old girl.
A local resident, James Joel, recounted the incident to PUNCH Metro, mentioning that it occurred on Tuesday night. Although specific details leading up to the tragic event remained unclear at the time of reporting, it was learned that an unidentified girl was fatally shot by the hunter, who was riding a bike in the Ayinla Akera area of Orile Agege, Lagos.
A video from the scene, acquired by PUNCH Metro, showed the girl lying in a pool of blood as distraught residents lamented. Some voices in the background suggested that the act was perpetrated by policemen from the Elere Police Station in the area.
“Policemen from Elere; they have killed somebody,” one voice was heard saying in the video.
“If this turns to war, they will run,” another person remarked.
“She was sent on an errand and she was killed,” added a voice in the video.
However, the Divisional Police Officer of Elere Station, Amodu Jimoh, refuted the report connecting policemen to the incident when contacted on Wednesday.
Nonetheless, confirming the occurrence, the DPO stated, “On Tuesday night, our men were patrolling. The policemen saw some people crowded on the street there. They tried to find out what was happening. They were told somebody shot at a young girl.
“They discovered the lifeless body on the ground. It was a 14-year-old girl. They inquired about the person who had shot her. They were informed it was a hunter carrying a Dane gun. He was intoxicated. Adjacent to the location, there is a woman selling alcoholic drinks.
“Perhaps he was attempting to adjust something, and the gun discharged. He arrived on a bike, and it appears to be an accidental discharge.”
The DPO mentioned that the deceased girl’s body was transported to a nearby hospital, and the police traced the woman who runs the shop where the man had gone to drink.