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Confusion As DSS Officers Allegedly Shoot Dead Tipper Driver, Injure Two In Edo

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2023: Thugs May Hijack Political Campaigns – DSS

Operatives of the Department of State Services, DSS have been accused of killing a tipper lorry driver in Edo State.

The development had on Tuesday caused unrest in Benin City as residents and other drivers reportedly staged protests over the killing of their members.

Naija News learnt that the aggrieved tipper drivers blocked major roads in the area to protest the alleged killing of one of their members by men of the secret police.

According to reports, the incident happened when the DSS operatives drove against traffic in two cars towards Tipper Garage, Ikpoba Slope, due to the gridlock caused by a broken down articulated vehicle.

Giving an insight on the event, one of the protesters who identified himself as Joseph Osaretin, said; “When our drivers identified the first vehicle as being occupied by the operatives, they allowed them to go, and asked an unmarked Audi to go back. This got the operatives angry and on getting down from their vehicle, they shot one of our drivers dead.

“When the drivers saw that their person was down, they went mad and that made the operatives shoot two other persons, who are in a critical condition in a hospital,” Punch Metro quoted the source as saying.

Reacting to the incident, the drivers reportedly regrouped and stormed major roads in the city protesting with placards.

Naija News understands that the protesters drove hundreds of their vehicles to the DSS office, blocked the entrance to the state police command and other security agencies in Benin to demand justice for the killing and injuries inflicted on their members.

An official of the 4 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Benin City, Brigadier General Sani Abdullahi, reportedly showed up amid the chaos and restored peace.

Subsequently, a meeting was held between the executive of the tipper drivers and the DSS, after which three tipper drivers earlier arrested by the security men were released.

However, contrary to the Tipper drivers testimony of the scenario, an official of the secret police who spoke on condition of anonymity, told newsmen that the operatives were confronted by hoodlums who wanted to free some kidnap suspects.

“We arrested three of their men who were involved in kidnapping and they decided to lay siege to us at the Tipper Garage by Tenboga Junction, to free them,” the source allegedly said.

He added: “The hoodlums, upon sighting the DSS operatives, pounced on them with guns and weapons. In the process, our operatives sustained varying degrees of injury, while our vehicles were also damaged.”