Juliana Francis
The Ag. Inspector-General of Police, Olukayode Adeolu Egbetokun, has condemned the disturbing viral video showing where a police team ran its patrol van over a citizen on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at the Ekpoma area of Edo State.
In the video, the citizen was seen lying on the ground, in front of the police patrol van and soon the police driver started driving, almost crushing the man, with people screaming.
Many people have described the incident as an attempted suicide on the part of the yet-to-be-identified man.
Also, different versions have emerged of what truly transpired between the police and the man, who is now in a hospital, battling to stay alive.
However, the version that has become constant is the one that alleges that the policemen confiscated the victim’s phone after asking him how he got money to buy such an expensive phone.
The citizen allegedly did not want them to take his phone away and therefore lay in front of the van, hoping to stop the policemen.
Another version also claimed that the policemen did not know that the citizen was lying in front of the police van.
It was also alleged that Policemen in Ekpoma have become a thorn in the fleshes of Edo State youths, with the police flagging young men down, confiscating their phones, and taking them into a forest to extort them, after saying they were taking them to Police stations.
It was also alleged that most of them no longer use POS operators for their extortion of young citizens in the state but had opened Opay accounts just for extortion.
The Force spokesman, Muyiwa Adejobi in a statement, said that the IGP has directed the erring policemen, who have been in detention in Edo State, to report to the Force Headquarters Abuja on Monday for further action.
“Members of the public, particularly the people of Ekpoma, are implored to remain calm as the present leadership of the NPF will not condone such an act of unprofessionalism and illegality,” said Adejobi.
Adejobi earlier on his Twitter handle, said: “This is unpolite. I don’t think a normal human being can do this. To crush a man with a car? This is unbelievable. I have personally contacted CP Edo on this. We need to take urgent action on the matter. It’s strange to me as a person.”
