Olalekan Fakoyejo, assistant business editor at TheCable, has recounted how he was attacked by a soldier after he made a comment about traffic jams in Ikeja in Lagos state.
Fakoyejo recalled that the incident happened on Saturday, May 2, as he was traveling from Ikeja to Ogba in a tricycle known as “Keke Napep.”
When the tricycle carrying him pulled up in front of the Pleasant Event Center, which is located off Ajao Road in Ikeja, some troops were observed controlling traffic. Traffic became even more congested for a while after a soldier ordered another rider to stop his tricycle as a form of punishment.
The resulting bottleneck trapped the tricycle carrying Fakoyejo. As a result, an enraged Fakoyejo informed other travelers that the soldier was to blame for the standoff.
After hearing Fakoyejo, a soldier with a dark complexion told the journalist and other travelers to get off. After dragging Fakoyejo off the tricycle, the soldier demanded to know what gave him the audacity to speak in that way. The journalist, however, stood his ground and told the soldier that he did nothing wrong by speaking up.
The official grew agitated and requested Fakoyejo to report himself to his colleagues who were not close to the scene of the incident. However, the officer then went ahead to slapped Fakoyejo who was even trying to explain what had happened to another soldier who was approaching them.
An eyewitness video, which was obtained by ENigeria Newspaper, recorded the soldier continuously pushing the journalist while trying to strike him with a cudgel that was picked up from the ground. In the process, Fakoyejo said his phone struck the asphalt, shattering the screen.
After then, other onlookers begged Fakoyejo to leave the area so he wouldn’t be killed or severely assaulted.
Fakoyejo added that two soldiers confronted the him while he was leaving, threatening to whip him into line once more while the onlookers begged and tried to diffuse the situation.
