The police were said to have laid ambush and shot dead the two Civil Defence officers in Ikorodu area of Lagos last night in a bid to rescue suspected oil vandals arrested by the corps.
The Civil Defence men were said to have been shot inside their vehicle with registration number CD 15 A01.
P.M.NEWS saw the vehicle parked at the Civil Defence headquarters at Alausa and it was seriously stained with blood in the aftermath of the shooting.
•Men of the Nigeria Police Force and other security agencies have been known to clash over divided interests
Their remains have been taken to the Military Hospital Mortuary, Yaba.
Spokesperson of the Lagos Civil Defence Corps, Kehinde Dada said the officers had gone on a raid of vandals in Ikorodu and were returning when they were ambushed by the police who shot and killed two Civil Defence officers.
She said the attack was sudden and that was why the slain officers could not defend themselves.
Another civil defence officer alleged that the vandals informed the police on phone that their men had been arrested and wanted the police to rescue them, saying that the police stormed the scene and shot at the civil defence officers.
The killing of the two officers resulted in a reprisal attack on policemen this morning in front of the Civil Defence office at Alausa.
Officers of the corps pounced on two policemen and beat them thoroughly to express their anger over the loss of their men.
There wast shooting by the police and civil defence corps during the clash.
There was pandemonium in the area as people ran in all directions to avoid being hit by stray bullets.
The two policemen that were beaten were forced into the Civil Defence premises by corps officers while officers of the Rapid Response Squad were quickly drafted to the scene to quell the clash.
A large number of fully armed RRS officers were stationed at the Civil Defence gate, while the Divisional Police Officer, Alausa Police Station, was at the scene to restore normalcy.
Civil Defence officers were ordered by their commandant back into their premises but there is apprehension that the police might fight back to rescue their men beaten and arrested by the officers of the corps.
Inside the Civil Defence office, hundreds of officers stopped work and were seen discussing the tragedy with anger welling inside them.
There could have been more bloodshed if the Civil Defence corps were not ordered back into their premises as they were fully armed and were spoiling for a showdown with the police.
When contacted, the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Umar Manko said he was not aware of the incident.
The Lagos State Police Command Public Relations Officer, Ngozi Braide also said she was not aware and that she would find out. But she never called back.
When P.M.NEWS called again, her deputy picked the call, saying she was in a meeting.
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