Soldier Assaults Journalist During Traffic Altercation in Lagos

A journalist with online newspaper TheCable, Olalekan Fakoyejo, has recounted how he was assaulted by a soldier following a dispute over traffic obstruction in the Ogba area of Lagos State.

Fakoyejo, who serves as Assistant Business Editor at TheCable, said the incident occurred on Saturday while he was travelling by tricycle from Ikeja to Ogba. He explained that soldiers were directing traffic when the tricycle he boarded manoeuvred around the Pleasant Event Centre, off Ajao Road, Ikeja.

According to his account, another tricycle driver attempted to weave through traffic and was pulled over by a soldier, who ordered the rider to step down and climb onto the roof of his tricycle as punishment.

Fakoyejo stated that he remarked that the soldier’s action was causing further traffic congestion. The soldier overheard the comment, dragged him out of the tricycle, and began threatening him. He was ordered to go and report himself to the soldier’s colleagues, a directive he refused.

He said the soldier kept pushing him backwards until another soldier approached to listen to his side. As Fakoyejo turned to explain to the arriving colleague, the first soldier allegedly slapped him.

An eyewitness video showed the soldier repeatedly shoving the journalist and attempting to strike him with a cudgel picked from the ground. During the scuffle, Fakoyejo’s phone fell to the ground, shattering its screen.

Passers-by later advised the journalist to leave the scene to avoid further assault. As he walked away, two other soldiers reportedly accosted him and threatened to whip him, while bystanders pleaded for calm.

Efforts to obtain a response from the Nigerian Army spokesperson were unsuccessful as messages sent had not been replied to at the time of this report.