Tension as Police, NDLEA officers clash in Bayelsa

There was commotion at the Ekeki Police Division in Yenagoa, Bayelsa State, on Thursday as a violent confrontation erupted between officers of the Nigeria Police Force and operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA).  

According to reports, NDLEA operatives had arrived in the area to apprehend a woman suspected of drug peddling. Prior to initiating their operation, the agency had reportedly made the necessary entry in the police records, as required by protocol.

However, as the NDLEA officials proceeded with the arrest, officers from the Ekeki Police Division allegedly obstructed their operation, leading to a heated altercation between the two law enforcement agencies.

In the resulting confrontation, several shots were fired which caused panic among residents in the area, an eyewitness told our correspondent on Thursday.

“As I was at the Bayelsa Newspaper Corporation, I heard some shots, about six shots, and I decided to find out. As I got to the Ekeki Police Division, I saw a confrontation between the police and NDLEA operatives,” the eyewitness said.

It was gathered that two operating vehicles of the NDLEA were shot in the process by the police to prevent the agency from taking the suspect away.

The eyewitness further stated that it was as if the police were allegedly providing cover for the drug suspect to carry out her drug business in the vicinity of the police division.

“The incident has made people suspect that the police are allegedly providing some kind of support for the woman to do drug business in the area,” he said.

When contacted, the NDLEA spokesman, Mr Howells Oba, said, “Our men went for an operation behind the Ekeki Police Division. Our man made an entry at the police station.”

On the shooting, Oba said, “They shot two of our vehicles and we are trying to see how we can take them out.”

According to him, the agency will make a formal statement on the situation but noted that they were trying to resolve the issue and restore peace.

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Mr Musa Mohammed, said he was hurrying to the scene to find out what happened.

“I am going there now to find out what happened,” Mohammed stated.