Operatives of the National Drug Law Enforcement Agency, NDLEA, and their police counterpart at the Ekeki Police Division clashed over attempts to arrest a suspected drug dealer.
The clash it was gathered caused pandemonium at the Ekeki Police Division in Yenagoa.
According to eyewitnesses some NDLEA operatives were in the area to arrest a woman suspected to be a drug peddler and even made entry in the police records before carrying out their assignment.
A resident at Ekeki told the News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, that as the NDLEA squad were carrying out their operation, the policemen from the Ekeki Police Division obstructed the NDLEA operatives.
In the resulting confrontation, several gunshots were fired which scared residents.
According to NAN, tyres of two operating vehicles of the NDLEA were deflated by the police to prevent the NDLEA operatives from taking the suspect away.
When contacted, NDLEA spokesman, Howells Obah, said that the operatives of the agency complied with standard operational procedure in carrying out the raid on the suspected drug dealer.
“Our men went for operation behind Ekeki Police Division. Our man made an entry in the police station as required but we learnt the suspect is a wife of a Policeman and enjoyed protection.
“They shot at two of our vehicles and we are trying to see how we can take them out, and we are making efforts to keep the situation from escalating further,” Obah said.
Meanwhile, the Bayelsa State Police command’s spokesman, Musa Mohammed confirmed the incident.
“I am going there now to find out what happened,” Mohammed said.
