How A Lagos Policeman Enforcing Okada Ban Shot A Guard

Koleosho Abayomi, a security guard, has cried out for justice after being shot.

He is demanding justice after a policeman allegedly shot him in his thigh at the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II, in the Eti Osa Local Government Area of Lagos State.

PUNCH Metro reports that the cop, alongside three colleagues, all attached to the Ogombo Police Station, stormed the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II to enforce the government ban on motorcycle operations on the estate when the incident happened.

Abayomi, while speaking to our correspondent, said following the ban, some commercial motorcyclists were allowed to operate on the estate to ease the movement of residents, adding that when the policemen got to the gate, one of his colleagues, Friday, stopped their patrol vehicle.

Angered by the action, Abayomi said the policemen got down from the vehicle to challenge the security guard for stopping them.

He said when the situation was getting out of hand, he intervened.

The 49-year-old said during the intervention, one of the policemen shot him.

He said, “Since the ban on Okada in Lagos State, the Lekki Peninsula Scheme II registered its own motorcycles that operated within the estate.

“The motorcycles do not go out of the estate to operate. The measure was in place to ease the movement of residents in the estate. But since the ban on Okada operations in the state, the police at the Ogombo division usually come into the estate to raid motorcyclists.

“These motorcyclists have their jackets with identification numbers, so when the complaint got to us, we reported to the chairman of the estate, but it took time before he reported the case to the DPO to caution his men since the motorcyclists don’t operate outside the estate.

“So, the policemen kept coming. When their presence could no longer be tolerated, the chairman instructed us to always ask their mission and that was what caused the problem that day.

“When Friday flagged them down on July 17 and the policemen got out of the patrol vehicle to arrest him, I quickly intervened and sent a signal to my CSO, Greg. When he came, he was trying to pacify them when one of them shot my right thigh.

“Immediately, the CSO called the DPO and he agreed to take full responsibility for what happened. I was rushed to a nearby hospital, where I was admitted for two weeks. The doctor asked me to leave because out of the N640,000 hospital bill, the DPO only dropped N300,000.”

He said he was transferred to the Marina General Hospital because he needed a major surgical operation.

Abayomi said the DPO gave a guard who took him to the general hospital N230,000, adding that the money finished within a week.

“I called the DPO again and he sent N130,000 and when the money got exhausted, I called and called but he didn’t answer. I called my CSO and he said the DPO had promised to visit me. But I didn’t see or hear anything from the DPO. So, I sent my younger brother to him and when he saw him, he started screaming and said my family members should continue taking care of me,” he added.

Abayomi said he used his personal money and contributions from the estate management to treat himself till he was discharged.

He noted that despite being discharged, he had been limping and had not been able to fend for his wife and three children.

The Chairman of the estate, Moses Kamanya, said the policemen usually visited the estate on the pretext of searching for Internet fraudsters.

He said however, the cops usually constituted a nuisance by conducting illegal stop-and-search on the estate.

“On that very day, the policemen were grossly at fault and we ensured that the policeman who shot the security guard faced the full wrath of the law.

“As a scheme, we paid the bill for his discharge from the hospital when the police didn’t come. It was a sad incident.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, said he would get back to our correspondent.

He had yet to do so as of the time this report was filed.