Juliana Francis
A traveller, who introduced himself as Chima Emmanuel, has narrated how policemen attached to Ijanikin Police Station, Lagos State Police Command, attacked him with a stick, inflicting injury on his head at the Iyana-Era bus stop.
According to eyewitnesses, the injury on Emmanuel’s head was so serious, causing profuse bleeding, that some Good Samaritans feared the worst and quickly rushed him to a nearby hospital.
The victim said that trouble started after the commercial cyclist carrying him allegedly refused to part with money.
Narrating his ordeal from his hospital bed, Chima said: “I was traveling to the village for my in-law’s final burial and because of traffic I boarded a commercial a motorcycle, from Agbara to Maza Maza. At Iyana Era Bus Stop, some policemen wanted to collect money from the cyclist, but he refused. Immediately one of the officers hit a heavy stick on my head. I fell off the motorcycle. It was some Good Samaritans that rushed me to the hospital.”
One of the eyewitnesses, Olalekan Muyideen, alleged that the policemen tried to extort the cyclist, but he refused to part with any money. One of the policemen got angry and hit the victim’s head with a sharp object.
“The victim fell and collapsed. The policemen drove their van away from the scene, abandoning him. It was passers-by who assisted him. At first, everyone thought he was dead, until some people came closer, and rushed him to the hospital as he was bleeding profusely,” said Muyideen.
A newspaper vendor, Adekola Aluko, selling at the Iyana Era-bus stop said the activities of police personnel at axis have become very worrisome.
His words: “Their extortion has taken another dimension. They do it openly without shame. Last week Wednesday, these policemen from Ijaniki Police Station caused a terrible accident, which led to a gridlock.”
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Benjamin Hundeyin, when asked about the incident and whether the policemen had been arrested, said that investigation was ongoing.
