By OLUFEMI OJOMO

There was palpable tension in Akure on Wednesday as a result of the death of three persons in the Ondo State capital.

Channels Television gathered that those who died were two commercial motorcycle riders and a passenger.

According to witnesses, tragedy struck when a bus said to have been driven by a woman knocked down and killed a commercial motorcycle rider and his passenger.

This resulted in a protest by other commercial motorcycle riders who blocked the major road, leading to a gridlock in the area.

In the process, the angry motorcycle riders were alleged to have made an attempt to mob the woman who knocked down their colleague.

They were, however, stopped by a yet-to-be-identified policeman attached to a filling station not far from where the accident occurred.

But the situation degenerated when the security operative mistakenly killed another commercial motorcyclist.

He was said to have fired some gunshots into the air in a bid to escape from the mob who attacked him while attempting to rescue the woman, but the other person was accidentally hit.

The spokesperson for the Ondo State Police Command, Funmilayo Odunlami, also confirmed the incident to Channels Television’s correspondent in Akure.

According to her, the angry protesters later attacked the policeman who escaped from the scene with severe wounds.

“It was a road accident in which a woman driving a car hit and killed a commercial motorcyclist. Then a crowd gathered at the scene and was trying to mob the woman,” said Odunlami.

“The policeman then approached the scene to disperse the crowd and rescue the woman, but the angry crowd mobbed him. It was while he was trying to rescue himself that he shot into the air and incidentally, he misfired.” DSP Funmilayo Odunlami said.

The protesters had set a bonfire on the major highway before the arrival of a team of policemen attached to the Division A Police Headquarters in the city.

The officers were able to pacify the protesters and douse the tension while normalcy was restored in the area. (Channels TV)

Update news