An unidentified group of soldiers has allegedly fatally shot a man amidst a conflict in the Otto vicinity of the Lagos State mainland.

These soldiers were dispatched to ensure the safety of Chinese workers engaged in maintenance work along the railway tracks. However, they have encountered opposition from a local group referred to as 'Omo onile' in the region.

According to an informant who spoke to Punch, the area youths frequently clashed with the construction laborers, leading to the involvement of soldiers as the police were no longer capable of containing the situation.

The source said, “The Chinese workers have stopped using the police because they feel like the police could not handle the boys. So they brought soldiers.”

Commenting on the incident, the Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyun, said the Railway Command was in charge of the area.

He said, “It’s not under our jurisdiction but that of the Railway Command.”

But a source in the police command who confirmed the incident expressed displeasure over the continued atrocities allegedly committed by Lagos soldiers.

The police source said, “It happened around 1 pm in the Ebutte Meta/Otto area. It is becoming too much. We can’t continue like this. I also have my family in Lagos.

“Will people just be dying in the hands of soldiers anyhow? It has to stop. Whenever they come out for that kind of mission, they don’t wear tags, so you can’t identify or trace them.”