The incident occurred when the soldiers, led by a Captain, arrived in two Hilux vans to conduct investigation in the community; however, they were mobbed by the villagers, who misconstrued their motive. As a result shots were fired into the air to scare off the surging villagers.
According to eyewitnesses: “I saw the soldiers, they came to the community, asking for the chairman of the community and vigilante leader. They told them that there was robbery incident on Warri/Sapele expressway and asked them to reveal the identity of the person who owns the farm from which the bandits collected the wood they used to barricade the road.