How Lagos policemen assaulted, robbed driver of N50,000
Details have emerged how officers of the Nigeria Police assaulted and extorted a Lagos driver of N50,000.
Some men of the Rapid Response Squad, Lagos State Police Command, were arrested for brutalising and extorting money from the bus driver and two others on Ojelade Street, in the Fadeyi area of the state.
A video clip of the incident, posted on Twitter by a social media user, revealed the cops assaulting the victims.
The video, posted by Connect Hub NG @HubNGR was titled, ‘Brutality: RRS police officers brutally assault man and 2 others at Fadeyi, Lagos State.’
The victims, on Thursday, stated that they did nothing to warrant the assault.
The bus driver, Olalekan Okanlawon, 34, told PUNCH Metro that N50,000 cash was extorted from him.
He said, “Around 6pm on Tuesday, I was trying to come out of Ojelade Street to the expressway. But immediately I came out of the street, I saw some officers in a Hummer bus. They were all armed and tough looking; I was scared, so I reversed back into the street.
“I did not know if they were actually police officers. They were in mufti; black tops and black jeans. Then there was ‘RRS’ sign at the back of their vests, which I did not quickly see.
“Immediately I parked my vehicle, I noticed that the officers kept following me. When they got to where I parked, they started beating me up. They slapped, beat and threatened me with their guns.
“One of them drove my bus to the Tafawa Balewa Square. When we got to TBS, they parked in front of the race course and demanded N200,000 for the release of my bus. I pleaded with them that I did not have the money. I later informed my boss, who bailed me with N50,000 cash.”
His friend, Adeoye Adebukunola, said the cops pounced on him because he asked him to reverse the vehicle.
He said, “I told him to reverse so there won’t be any issues with them. The rest of the men came in a Hummer bus, about seven of them, and I saw them dragging my friend. They collected his bag and beat him up.
“One of the officers came to me and said I was the one that told the driver to reverse and I replied that I didn’t do anything wrong; he (the officer) just slapped me. They also threatened to shoot me twice and I had to mellow down for fear of being shot.”
The third victim, Ibukunoluwa Oladele, said the officers assaulted her because they thought she was filming the incident.
The 29-year-old trader said, “I was just passing by at the time of the incident, typing on my phone but they thought I was videoing them. One of the officers walked up to me and gave me a dirty slap and demanded my phone. I refused to give it to him and then he slapped me again without any explanation. They manhandled me in their bus and collected my phone. They unlocked it and didn’t see anything.
“When they didn’t see anything, they dropped me off at Yaba. I had no transport fare because I had only come to buy something outside; I had to trek from Yaba back to Ojelade Street. They never apologised; the guy who slapped me said he would do something to me that I would never forget in my life.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, confirmed the arrest of the officers in a tweet.
He wrote, “These officers have all been identified. The Commander, RRS, CSP Yinka Egbeyemi, will be interrogating them today (Wednesday). Further updates will be provided.”
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