Pandemonium broke out on Tuesday at Second Rainbow, on the Oshodi\Apapa Expressway, Lagos, after some men suspected to be soldiers attacked dozens of touts who inflicted injury on one of their colleagues.

This came on the heel of an accident involving a tanker loaded with petroleum products and rammed into a commercial motorcyclist at Alaba Bus Stop on the same expressway, in the driver’s bid to avoid being extorted by touts.

There were different accounts as to how the trouble started between the soldier and the touts. A version of the account said the soldier was escorting a truck which was stopped by some touts on an extortion spree.

The soldier reportedly refused and was dragged out of the truck and gang beaten.

Another version of the account said the soldier in mufti was in a commercial bus heading towards Cele, when some touts popularly called Agbero clustered round the vehicle, demanding for money.

He was said to have ordered the touts to leave the vehicle. When they refused, he reportedly alighted from the bus to shove one of the touts away, only to be gang beaten by over ten touts.

One hour later, the injured soldier returned with his colleagues who descended on any tout in sight. They were still unleashing mayhem on the touts at 8pm.

Tanker crushes Okada

Meanwhile, tragedy struck the same day on the same expressway when a tanker laden with 33,000 litre of Premium Motor Spirit, PMS, otherwise called petrol, overturned, crushing a commercial motorcyclist to death.

Eyewitness said the incident happened about 6.45 pm, as driver of the truck tried to evade being extorted by touts

The impact led to the tanker overturning and spilled its content in the process.

The deceased whose identity could not be determined as of press time was later recovered and taken to the mortuary.

Permanent Secretary, of Lagos State Emergency Management Agency, LASEMA, Dr.Femi Oke-Osanyitolu, said upon receipt of the report, the agency promptly dispatched a rescue team to the scene for the recovery operation.

According to Oke-Osanyitolu, “The agency responded to an incident at the above location in which a fuel-laden tanker overturned due to a collision between the tanker and a motorcycle.

“Unfortunately, the motorcycle rider was crushed to death underneath the tanker and its contents are spilling onto the road rendering the scene extremely hazardous to other motorists and passersby. Meanwhile, the agency worked in collaboration with men of the Lagos Fire and Rescue Service, Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASTMA, Lagos Neighborhood Safety Corps, LNSC and the Nigeria Police to secure the scene and carry out secondary incident containment measures while heavy duty equipment by LASEMA had been dispatched to remove the tanker from the road.

“Residents are urged to avoid any naked flame until the incident is contained,” Oke-Osanyitolu stated. (Vanguard: Text, excluding headline)

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