THERE was pandemonium at the Ekeki Police Division in Yenagoa as a violent confrontation ensued between the men of the Nigeria Police and the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency on Thursday.
This newspaper gathered that some NDLEA operatives were in the area to arrest a woman suspected to be a drug peddler and had even made an entry in the police records before carrying out their assignment.
However, just as they were going about their operation, the policemen from the Ekeki Police Division obstructed the NDLEA operatives and it resulted in an altercation.
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.