A Naval officer with the Nigerian Navy has narrated an ugly incident in which his younger brother was picked up by some police officers and thrown
PIC. 4. GRADUATING BATCH 9 GROUP OF QUICK RESPONSE OF COUNTER TERRORISM AND
INSURGENCY CENTRE, DEMONSTRATING DURING THEIR GRADUATION CEREMONY AT JAJI,
KADUNA STATE ON FRIDAY (31/8/12).A Naval officer with the Nigerian Navy has narrated an ugly incident in which his younger brother was picked up by some police officers and thrown
into a police cell. Kolapo Orowale who narrated the incident is now crying out for justice.
The policemen in Lagos are accused of stopping innocent people on the road and bundling them inside their vans without any explanation, then dump them inside cells if the victims refuse to give them money.
The eye-popping encounter he narrated shows the unprofessional manner the police, who are supposed to be the custodians of law and justice have turned themselves into extorters and petty thieves.
Kolapo narrated that his brother was bundled and driven to a police station where he was thrown into the cell for wearing ‘red face cap and red flat shoe’. His phone taken away from him and even his offence was not mentioned. It was also gathered that while his brother was being taken to the police station, other innocent people were also picked on the road for no just reason and taken to the police station.
Imagine the fate of those innocent people wrongly arrested and thrown into police cells without their family members knowing their whereabouts because of corrupt police officers who have not iota of responsibility and shame for the important role they play in the society.
The case of Kolapo’s brother is different because he has someone to fight for him. What then is the fate of the innocent others who were randomly picked on the road and thrown into cells? How can the Nigerian police allow its men commit such impunity without being reprimanded.
Read Kolapo’s sad story below with the title ‘Who Facebook Epp?’:
“WHO FACEBOOK EPP?
All my plans today was to have a good rest, I’ve been busy all through the holiday. I met my brother at home this morning when he dressed up to go pick a little cousin in abeokuta. Fine, tall slim Boy, he wore a short 3quarter Jean, a shirt to match, a red face cap and a red fine flat sole shoe..
I wanted to have some words with him but he escaped it and left home for his journey. I took my bath and left for Chukky’s place, I was almost at his house when dad called. Truthfully, we were both against his going to Abeokuta, my mind jumped at his call and all my thoughts was “accident”
Dad asked if I was closer to the house and I said No, and I asked what the problem was. He didn’t tell until I called him back the third time. Then he said “your brother is in the police station”.
My mind flew off, I told the bike man to turn back, I thought of going to the station in mufti but i rebuffed the thoughts cos I know how those people can be useless that I might spend the night in one of their cells if I ain’t careful.
I rushed back home, I changed to uniform even though my dad didn’t want me to, I explained my last ordeal with those people to him and how they threatened to lock me up if I wasn’t on uniform. I got to the station past 12 or thereabout, I went straight to the SARS department and I sighted him sitting with 5 other young boys. Dad did the greeting while I stood and looked, wondering what he could have done wrong.
The woman explained he was picked on the road.
I wanted to question him, she didn’t allow and we should wait for the patrol team that picked him up. I met some of the family members of the other boys and I stood somewhere around waiting for this people. My dad contacted some of his police friends in that station and all of them backed out stylishly (typical Nigerian police attitude).
I knew he was picked up because of his dressing of color red but I still wasn’t too sure. I still managed to question the boys in 10seconds when the police lady stepped out and they told me none of them did anything wrong. I got bored and angry after three hours of waiting, then I contacted Olawepo my new police friend on facebook here.
He calmed me down and made several calls on my behalf, the lady corporal he directed me to was a bit helpful but still there was A Naval officer with the Nigerian Navy has narrated an ugly incident in which his younger brother was picked up by some police officers and thrown into a police cell. Kolapo Orowale who narrated the incident is now crying out for justice.
The policemen in Lagos are accused of stopping innocent people on the road and bundling them inside their vans without any explanation, then dump them inside cells if the victims refuse to give them money.
The eye-popping encounter he narrated shows the unprofessional manner the police, who are supposed to be the custodians of law and justice have turned themselves into extorters and petty thieves.
Kolapo narrated that his brother was bundled and driven to a police station where he was thrown into the cell for wearing ‘red face cap and red flat shoe’. His phone taken away from him and even his offence was not mentioned. It was also gathered that while his brother was being taken to the police station, other innocent people were also picked on the road for no just reason and taken to the police station.
Imagine the fate of those innocent people wrongly arrested and thrown into police cells without their family members knowing their whereabouts because of corrupt police officers who have not iota of responsibility and shame for the important role they play in the society.
The case of Kolapo’s brother is different because he has someone to fight for him. What then is the fate of the innocent others who were randomly picked on the road and thrown into cells? How can the Nigerian police allow its men commit such impunity without being reprimanded.
Read Kolapo’s sad story below with the title ‘Who Facebook Epp?’:
“WHO FACEBOOK EPP?
All my plans today was to have a good rest, I’ve been busy all through the holiday. I met my brother at home this morning when he dressed up to go pick a little cousin in abeokuta. Fine, tall slim Boy, he wore a short 3quarter Jean, a shirt to match, a red face cap and a red fine flat sole shoe..
I wanted to have some words with him but he escaped it and left home for his journey. I took my bath and left for Chukky’s place, I was almost at his house when dad called. Truthfully, we were both against his going to Abeokuta, my mind jumped at his call and all my thoughts was “accident”
Dad asked if I was closer to the house and I said No, and I asked what the problem was. He didn’t tell until I called him back the third time. Then he said “your brother is in the police station”.
My mind flew off, I told the bike man to turn back, I thought of going to the station in mufti but i rebuffed the thoughts cos I know how those people can be useless that I might spend the night in one of their cells if I ain’t careful.
I rushed back home, I changed to uniform even though my dad didn’t want me to, I explained my last ordeal with those people to him and how they threatened to lock me up if I wasn’t on uniform. I got to the station past 12 or thereabout, I went straight to the SARS department and I sighted him sitting with 5 other young boys. Dad did the greeting while I stood and looked, wondering what he could have done wrong.
The woman explained he was picked on the road.
I wanted to question him, she didn’t allow and we should wait for the patrol team that picked him up. I met some of the family members of the other boys and I stood somewhere around waiting for this people. My dad contacted some of his police friends in that station and all of them backed out stylishly (typical Nigerian police attitude).
I knew he was picked up because of his dressing of color red but I still wasn’t too sure. I still managed to question the boys in 10seconds when the police lady stepped out and they told me none of them did anything wrong. I got bored and angry after three hours of waiting, then I contacted Olawepo my new police friend on facebook here.
He calmed me down and made several calls on my behalf, the lady corporal he directed me to was a bit helpful but still there was no result.
Then later on, I realised my bro arrested is just 17 years old and a juvenile, I needed some few advice from a lawyer on how to go about it and even press charges. Then I made a post about a lawyer and some reasonable friends responded well and I got results.. (you know yourselves,
I am very grateful). I contacted Olakunle too, through our interactions on facebook, he sounds much more educated, matured and different among all policemen on this facebook and whenever there is an issue against them, he will never get angry other than apologize.
I inboxed him the same message I sent to the lawyers and he responded immediately by calling me on messenger which I later saw. I put off my data at a certain time and when I put it back on, I saw his message with his number telling me to call him which I did. After explaining the station I was and the situation to him, he started making calls and directed me to meet the lady corporal.
After an hour, he called again and asked me to ask for the area commander and go to his office and when I get there, I should explain my problem to him. I went to the area commander’s office and I met a man at the reception, and as he heard I was instructed to come there from Abuja, he stood up and called the SARS patrol team immediately.
Then he followed me to see my brother where he was and we interrogated him briefly. He was stopped on bike a little distance from our bus stop at gun point, they forced him into the vehicle and drove him round before heading to the station at last. They collected his phone and told him not to contact anybody. 6 people were picked along the road, 5 people before him.
He got a phone from one of the guys to call dad. The remaining 5 wrote statement and my brother didn’t, why they didn’t give him a statement form still surprises me. After waiting for the SARS patrol team for 4 hours 30mins, I got angry and I called Mr Olawepo again, he still told me to maintain my calmness. Arresting the boys wasn’t my problem anymore, keeping them without documentation of any statement was pissing me off.
Those who made the arrest are supposed to stay around till the family comes. Later I overheard the lady in charge of them telling someone she will move them to the cell if the patrol team doesn’t come back my 6pm. My head sparked and I barked at her and everyone, he is a 17 year old and the police has no right to lock him up for any reason, and I furthermore told them that they would rather lock us both and that I won’t allow him sleep in any cell till they tell me what he did exactly.
After I demanded to see the Commander again, the desk man didn’t allow me go in as he suspected trouble already, he dialled the patrol team number and they picked finally. He told them who I was and who I came to bail out.
He didn’t say much words to me, I watched him enter the room they kept the boys, gave the lady there the phone and in 15mins my brother was out..
What they arrested him for I still don’t know.
He told me they asked him for money and he told them he doesn’t have so he hid the money on him in his shoe. As we stepped out of the station, the patrol team were on their way in and they saw me as I bounced out of the station with my brother. They just stared in surprise and as usual, they caught some new boys to join the other 5 I left there.”
The story has opened the eyes of many people to the tragedy called the Nigerian police and how innocent people are labeled criminals just to be extorted and exploited by those who are supposed to be their protectors. The Inspector-General of Police has been challenged by well-meaning Nigerians to call his men to order, arrest and prosecute corrupt police officers involved in such image-damaging operations to serve as deterrent to others.
