A young man Toheeb Eniafe, has lost his life after he was shot at a petrol station belonging to the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited at Obalende in the Ikoyi area of Lagos State.
According to eyewitness, Eniafe was on the queue to get petrol when the incident happened.
While on the queue, two men, believed to be military officers, attempted to drive into the station to buy petrol even though they were not in the queue to get the product.
This was met with stiff resistance from people in the queue; many of whom had been waiting for hours.
Several eyewitnesses confirmed that Eniafe spearheaded the argument, telling the men to join the queue like everyone else.
This further degenerated into a fisticuff and the eventual death of the young man after one of the men shot him and fled the scene.
Nigerians have been struggling to buy fuel in the last few days.
The scarcity has led to an increase in transport fares and queues at various filling stations selling the product.
A resident, who gave his name as Mr. Amos Ayo, who said he witnessed the incident, alleged that the officers were from the Department of State Services as they had their branded polo shirts.
Ayo narrated, “I saw them. They are men of the DSS. They came to the scene to buy fuel but refused to join the queue.
“That is what they always do. It was not Toheeb’s turn yet but he confronted them, asking them to join the queue or be polite about the way they went about the purchase.
“One of them was so impatient. He slapped Toheeb and he retaliated with more words. Before we could know it, we heard gunshots and Toheeb fell to the ground.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the incident.
He said a young man, Toheeb Eniafe, was killed and two vehicles burnt. He, however, said the identity of the shooters was not yet ascertained as investigations were ongoing.
He said, “I can confirm that somebody was shot dead. I can confirm that the body has been deposited in the morgue.
“Two vehicles were burnt. The identity of the shooter is still unknown but investigations are ongoing to unravel that. The deceased’s name is Toheeb Eniafe.”
Reacting to the incident via a text message, DSS spokesman, Peter Afunnaya, denied any of its officers was part of the imbroglio.
He said, “It is not true (that a DSS officer shot Toheeb). Kindly deepen your investigations to uncover the truth. No single DSS staff was involved in the matter.”
