The family of 22-year-old Gafaru Yusuf has been thrown into mourning after operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency allegedly shot him and Emmanuel Olomowewe dead in the Idioro area of Mushin, Lagos State.
We gathered that the NDLEA operatives stormed the community around 9.40pm on Wednesday to raid a drug den when they started shooting indiscriminately to scare hoodlums attempting to scuttle their plan in the community.
It was learnt that stray bullets hit and killed the victims.
Speaking with our correspondent, Yusuf’s elder sister, Muhibah, while demanding justice for her brother, said he was on his way to buy food at a location in the community when a stray bullet from the NDLEA operatives killed him.
“My brother usually assists my father at his workplace in Lagos. But yesterday (Wednesday), he did not go to work. From what I was told, he was on his way to buy food around 9.40pm when we got the information that he got hit by a bullet fired by the NDLEA operatives. We want justice,” Muhibah said.
Yusuf’s tearful mother betrayed emotion during a conversation with our correspondent.
“I cannot say anything; let me give it (the phone) to another person that will talk to you,” she said.
A resident, who gave his name simply as Olasunkanmi, while lamenting the development, questioned the operatives for shooting indiscriminately in a residential area, adding that the bullets hit Yusuf’s head and Olomowewe’s chest.
He noted that the victims died on the spot, adding that people in the community had been enraged by the development.
Olasunkanmi said, “We are not saying the NDLEA should not do their job, but why will its operatives be shooting anyhow in a residential area? The NDLEA operatives invaded a drug den in the community around 10pm and started seizing illicit drugs which is in order.
“The operatives were about 50 and most of them were armed. While some wore the agency’s uniform, some of them dressed in casual wear. The people dealing in the drug business were enraged by the raid and started threatening to make trouble.
Punchng Report.
