Physinews: The Story begins……
THE QUEST FOR JUSTICE
I want to implore all Human Rights activities, civil societies and citizens of the country who believe that justice must always prevail to come around and demand for justice for these late boys who died as a result of acts of wickedness and victimization by the members of the Nigeria Police Force.
We want full prosecution of the officers involved in this unfortunate and this case must not be swept under the carpet.
A special appeal to the moderators to kindly do the needful for this message to reach the authorities concerned. Thanks.
As I begin this piece, I write with a mind full of anguish, disappointment and distrust. I am disappointed that the people chosen to protect and safeguard lives and properties have become the ones hell-bent on jeopardizing the objectives of the creation of the force. I am angry that the people who are supposed to be the friends of the people have turned to our enemies. The Nigeria Police Force is ridden with corruption, evils and more evils. The set of people who are supposed to maintain laws and orders are the ones enforcing lawlessness. What a shame! What a gross disappointment!
‘A child who says his mother will not sleep will not catch sleep himself.’
I have lost my trust in the Nigerian Police Force.
HOW THE POLICE LIED ABOUT THE MURDER OF AN INNOCENT BOY
I visited the Durbar police station as a concerned citizen and an advocate for justice with three other comrades. I made my findings and calmly, I listened to the police side of the story without interruption. It goes thus;
‘A pick up van loaded with fire-woods was allegedly coming from Aawe road and was going through Kosobo, Hollywood hotel junction to connect with the Akinmorin road when it was intercepted by a team of traffic officers (three traffic warden and a conventional policeman) on duty in a car. According to them, they actually stopped the vehicle because it was carrying two young boys sitting dangerously on the woods. They asked the boys to come down and also demanded to see the driver’s driving license which he couldn’t produce. The driver was asked to drive off to the Durbar police station but he refused and went into the van to disconnect some cables. He was arrested immediately and taken inside the police vehicle. The motor boy was then asked to drive the van, and he obeyed promptly. A traffic officer was asked to sit with the motor boy and the two boys in the van. As they were going with the police car trailing behind, the motor boy allegedly lost control of the van and swerved off the road. The vehicle ran into a ditch and somersaulted. The occupants of the van (the motor boy, the two boys and the traffic warden) were allegedly thrown out of the van which had no windscreen.
This immediately attracted a mob that didn’t attempt to rescue the boys but wanted to lynch the officers, the officers immediately fled the scene after rescuing their colleague. A police patrol van was passing through that area at the time of the incident. The mob incident attracted them and when they got to the scene to assist the victims, the mob also descended on them. They also fled but one officer was left behind, Sergeant Amao. He was descended upon by the mob and asked to take one of the victims who had already fainted to the hospital. A bike man was flagged down and the policeman accompanied the boy to the hospital. On getting to the hospital, the boy was immediately taken on a stretcher to the emergency unit and it was then that the police officer discovered that the boy was his son.
The boy later died.’
My people, that was the police side of the story as at yesterday morning.
I was speechless because the story was too good to be true. I asked some questions and I got some disturbing answers. Now, let’s note some points here;
1. The van was seized because of the two boys sitting dangerously on the fire-wood.
2. The driver couldn’t produce his driver’s license.
3. The driver of the van resisted arrest and this prompted them to order the motorboy to drive it.
4. The two boys were also asked to sit in the vehicle with the motorboy and an accompanying traffic warden.
5. The van had no windscreen and the occupants were thrown out the vehicle during the accident.
6. The mob didn’t attempt to rescue the victims instead, they descended on the officers.
THE INVESTIGATION: THE DISCOVERY OF THE TRUTH
With my comrades, we left the station and proceeded to the scene of the incident. We were busy examining the scene and taking pictures when a guy on a bike, a friend of one of us, stopped and was eager to give us some information.
Frankly, this report is based on over thirteen eyewitness accounts and I am telling you sincerely that there is no shade of doubt in this piece.
According to this guy, he was behind the police vehicle trailing the van after it was seized. He had firsthand information and was a true witness to the scene. He confirmed that the vehicle was seized when they asked the driver, an old man, to give them an amount he couldn’t afford. Other witnesses confirmed this.
Our investigation revealed that the traffic wardens patrolled that area regularly and were already known for their notoriety. They picked that point to extort vans coming from neighboring villages and farms to collect from their proceeds. One Officer Jelili, ‘a yellow fever’ (traffic warden) led the team. They were always seen on that route on daily basis. The vehicle they patrol with was a blue Nissan car. The team also included a yellow-skinned lady. Their mode of operation is to seize the vehicle of an uncooperative driver and he would be asked to alight while one of the officers would be asked to drive off to the station. That’s how they have been working.
HOW IT HAPPENED
At exactly 10:38am on Thursday, 6th of October, 2016, a team of police officers including three traffic wardens and a conventional policeman were seen at the Kosobo Junction that links to Akinmorin via Hollywood Hotel junction.
An oncoming pick up van carrying firewood was sighted by the officers. They immediately blocked the road and asked the driver to stop the vehicle. Truly, two young boys were seen sitting on the firewood.
They officers questioned the elderly driver while he had to carry these boys on an already loaded vehicle and he pleaded that he assisted the boys from Aawe.
The officers led by Officer Jelili (rank unknown) demanded for the the driver’s license which he couldn’t produce. This gave them an opportunity to demand for a bribe but unfortunately, the man could only afford a meager 200naira. This infuriated the officers and ordered that the car be seized.
One of them immediately went to the driver’s side and started the vehicle. Yes, an officer drove the vehicle! The driver was heard begging the officers to allow him drive as the vehicle’s brake is faulty and he was the only one that could handle it. But they ignored his warnings. Instead, the driver was also asked to sit beside him and the car was being driven to the Durbar station. The other officers also went into the Nissan car and were trailing the seized vehicle.
According to eyewitness accounts, the motorboy was left behind and he was heard shouting ‘Haaa… Brake motor yen o da ooo.’ (That motor’s brake is faulty ooo) He was also ignored.
The officer driving the van ran into a ditch and lost control. That was the genesis of the accident. This happened about a hundred yards to the Akinmorin junction where another team of policemen led by one Officer Okon regularly set up roadblocks to extort money from vehicles, even after roadblocks have been canceled.
The traffic warden driving the van was striving to regain the control of the vehicle but according to the warning of the driver and his motor boy, the brake was faulty. He sighted his colleagues at the junction and didn’t want to hit them. Instead, he swerved into a nearby bush very close to the junction.
It was at this point that the van somersaulted. One of the boys sitting on the van fell off and hit his head on the ground thereby losing consciousness. This boy died before he got to the hospital. The other boy was mysteriously found under the vehicle and it took the combined efforts of sympathizers and onlookers before he was removed. I learnt this morning that he died yesterday morning too, though it’s still unconfirmed.
The witness accounts revealed that the officers in the trailing vehicle immediately ran to rescue the colleagues and fled the scene. The sympathizers were not mobs. They wanted to help and if the officers had waited to assist them, maybe the boys would have been alive to tell the tale.
The other team at the junction also fled the scene without assisting the victims but unfortunately, one of them, Officer Amao (the alleged father of the boy who died that day) was left behind. The sympathizers immediately seized him and asked him to flag down a bike to take the boy who had already lost consciousness to the clinic.
Unknowingly, the boy was actually his stepson.
It was the sympathizers that actually turned over the van to pull out one of the boys who was lying beneath it. It was the sympathizers that revived the elderly man after he fainted.
When these people protested, they got to Durbar police station and they discovered that the officers that fled the scene had already changed into muftis acting as if they were off duty. The only policeman on uniform was Officer Okoi who at that time was on duty as the station guard.
It was established that the officers led by Offficer Jelili actually extort commuters plying Kosobo-Akinmorin road. It is also established that a roadblock exists at Hollywood Hotel junction and on the day of the incident Officer Okon led the team that mounted the roadblock.
Kindly note that we have officer Okon and there is also one officer Okoi.
One other thing, Officer Amao isn’t the biological father of one of the deceased boys. The boy was actually his stepson. Shikena. So the police shouldn’t gain sympathy public sympathy through that.
Like I posted a couple of days ago, justice must prevail.
Investigation continues and we will ensure that the officers involved in this atrocities must be questioned and sanctioned.
THE QUEST FOR JUSTICE
I want to implore all Human Rights activities, civil societies and citizens of the country who believe that justice must always prevail to come around and demand for justice for these late boys who died as a result of acts of wickedness and victimization by the members of the Nigeria Police Force.
We want full prosecution of the officers involved in this unfortunate and this case must not be swept under the carpet.
A special appeal to the moderators to kindly do the needful for this message to reach the authorities concerned. Thanks.
As I begin this piece, I write with a mind full of anguish, disappointment and distrust. I am disappointed that the people chosen to protect and safeguard lives and properties have become the ones hell-bent on jeopardizing the objectives of the creation of the force. I am angry that the people who are supposed to be the friends of the people have turned to our enemies. The Nigeria Police Force is ridden with corruption, evils and more evils. The set of people who are supposed to maintain laws and orders are the ones enforcing lawlessness. What a shame! What a gross disappointment!
‘A child who says his mother will not sleep will not catch sleep himself.’
I have lost my trust in the Nigerian Police Force.
HOW THE POLICE LIED ABOUT THE MURDER OF AN INNOCENT BOY
I visited the Durbar police station as a concerned citizen and an advocate for justice with three other comrades. I made my findings and calmly, I listened to the police side of the story without interruption. It goes thus;
‘A pick up van loaded with fire-woods was allegedly coming from Aawe road and was going through Kosobo, Hollywood hotel junction to connect with the Akinmorin road when it was intercepted by a team of traffic officers (three traffic warden and a conventional policeman) on duty in a car. According to them, they actually stopped the vehicle because it was carrying two young boys sitting dangerously on the woods. They asked the boys to come down and also demanded to see the driver’s driving license which he couldn’t produce. The driver was asked to drive off to the Durbar police station but he refused and went into the van to disconnect some cables. He was arrested immediately and taken inside the police vehicle. The motor boy was then asked to drive the van, and he obeyed promptly. A traffic officer was asked to sit with the motor boy and the two boys in the van. As they were going with the police car trailing behind, the motor boy allegedly lost control of the van and swerved off the road. The vehicle ran into a ditch and somersaulted. The occupants of the van (the motor boy, the two boys and the traffic warden) were allegedly thrown out of the van which had no windscreen.
This immediately attracted a mob that didn’t attempt to rescue the boys but wanted to lynch the officers, the officers immediately fled the scene after rescuing their colleague. A police patrol van was passing through that area at the time of the incident. The mob incident attracted them and when they got to the scene to assist the victims, the mob also descended on them. They also fled but one officer was left behind, Sergeant Amao. He was descended upon by the mob and asked to take one of the victims who had already fainted to the hospital. A bike man was flagged down and the policeman accompanied the boy to the hospital. On getting to the hospital, the boy was immediately taken on a stretcher to the emergency unit and it was then that the police officer discovered that the boy was his son.
The boy later died.’
My people, that was the police side of the story as at yesterday morning.
I was speechless because the story was too good to be true. I asked some questions and I got some disturbing answers. Now, let’s note some points here;
1. The van was seized because of the two boys sitting dangerously on the fire-wood.
2. The driver couldn’t produce his driver’s license.
3. The driver of the van resisted arrest and this prompted them to order the motorboy to drive it.
4. The two boys were also asked to sit in the vehicle with the motorboy and an accompanying traffic warden.
5. The van had no windscreen and the occupants were thrown out the vehicle during the accident.
6. The mob didn’t attempt to rescue the victims instead, they descended on the officers.
THE INVESTIGATION: THE DISCOVERY OF THE TRUTH
With my comrades, we left the station and proceeded to the scene of the incident. We were busy examining the scene and taking pictures when a guy on a bike, a friend of one of us, stopped and was eager to give us some information.
Frankly, this report is based on over thirteen eyewitness accounts and I am telling you sincerely that there is no shade of doubt in this piece.
According to this guy, he was behind the police vehicle trailing the van after it was seized. He had firsthand information and was a true witness to the scene. He confirmed that the vehicle was seized when they asked the driver, an old man, to give them an amount he couldn’t afford. Other witnesses confirmed this.
Our investigation revealed that the traffic wardens patrolled that area regularly and were already known for their notoriety. They picked that point to extort vans coming from neighboring villages and farms to collect from their proceeds. One Officer Jelili, ‘a yellow fever’ (traffic warden) led the team. They were always seen on that route on daily basis. The vehicle they patrol with was a blue Nissan car. The team also included a yellow-skinned lady. Their mode of operation is to seize the vehicle of an uncooperative driver and he would be asked to alight while one of the officers would be asked to drive off to the station. That’s how they have been working.
HOW IT HAPPENED
At exactly 10:38am on Thursday, 6th of October, 2016, a team of police officers including three traffic wardens and a conventional policeman were seen at the Kosobo Junction that links to Akinmorin via Hollywood Hotel junction.
An oncoming pick up van carrying firewood was sighted by the officers. They immediately blocked the road and asked the driver to stop the vehicle. Truly, two young boys were seen sitting on the firewood.
They officers questioned the elderly driver while he had to carry these boys on an already loaded vehicle and he pleaded that he assisted the boys from Aawe.
The officers led by Officer Jelili (rank unknown) demanded for the the driver’s license which he couldn’t produce. This gave them an opportunity to demand for a bribe but unfortunately, the man could only afford a meager 200naira. This infuriated the officers and ordered that the car be seized.
One of them immediately went to the driver’s side and started the vehicle. Yes, an officer drove the vehicle! The driver was heard begging the officers to allow him drive as the vehicle’s brake is faulty and he was the only one that could handle it. But they ignored his warnings. Instead, the driver was also asked to sit beside him and the car was being driven to the Durbar station. The other officers also went into the Nissan car and were trailing the seized vehicle.
According to eyewitness accounts, the motorboy was left behind and he was heard shouting ‘Haaa… Brake motor yen o da ooo.’ (That motor’s brake is faulty ooo) He was also ignored.
The officer driving the van ran into a ditch and lost control. That was the genesis of the accident. This happened about a hundred yards to the Akinmorin junction where another team of policemen led by one Officer Okon regularly set up roadblocks to extort money from vehicles, even after roadblocks have been canceled.
The traffic warden driving the van was striving to regain the control of the vehicle but according to the warning of the driver and his motor boy, the brake was faulty. He sighted his colleagues at the junction and didn’t want to hit them. Instead, he swerved into a nearby bush very close to the junction.
It was at this point that the van somersaulted. One of the boys sitting on the van fell off and hit his head on the ground thereby losing consciousness. This boy died before he got to the hospital. The other boy was mysteriously found under the vehicle and it took the combined efforts of sympathizers and onlookers before he was removed. I learnt this morning that he died yesterday morning too, though it’s still unconfirmed.
The witness accounts revealed that the officers in the trailing vehicle immediately ran to rescue the colleagues and fled the scene. The sympathizers were not mobs. They wanted to help and if the officers had waited to assist them, maybe the boys would have been alive to tell the tale.
The other team at the junction also fled the scene without assisting the victims but unfortunately, one of them, Officer Amao (the alleged father of the boy who died that day) was left behind. The sympathizers immediately seized him and asked him to flag down a bike to take the boy who had already lost consciousness to the clinic.
Unknowingly, the boy was actually his stepson.
It was the sympathizers that actually turned over the van to pull out one of the boys who was lying beneath it. It was the sympathizers that revived the elderly man after he fainted.
When these people protested, they got to Durbar police station and they discovered that the officers that fled the scene had already changed into muftis acting as if they were off duty. The only policeman on uniform was Officer Okoi who at that time was on duty as the station guard.
It was established that the officers led by Offficer Jelili actually extort commuters plying Kosobo-Akinmorin road. It is also established that a roadblock exists at Hollywood Hotel junction and on the day of the incident Officer Okon led the team that mounted the roadblock.
Kindly note that we have officer Okon and there is also one officer Okoi.
One other thing, Officer Amao isn’t the biological father of one of the deceased boys. The boy was actually his stepson. Shikena. So the police shouldn’t gain sympathy public sympathy through that.
Like I posted a couple of days ago, justice must prevail.
Investigation continues and we will ensure that the officers involved in this atrocities must be questioned and sanctioned.
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