• Scene of the incident; Osun State CP, Fimihan Adeoye Photos: Samson Folarin, file
Police
officers have caused quite a stir in an Osun State community after they
handcuffed a passenger to a vehicle after the driver escaped.
According to a Punch Metro report, some members of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Osun State Police Command have allegedly dehumanised a bus passenger at the Erinmo Ijesa end of the Iwaraja-Efon Alaaye Road, Osun State.
According to a Punch Metro report, some members of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Osun State Police Command have allegedly dehumanised a bus passenger at the Erinmo Ijesa end of the Iwaraja-Efon Alaaye Road, Osun State.
Punch Metro reports that the policemen, who were in a Hilux van,
mounted a checkpoint on the road and extorted money from commercial bus
drivers.
However, a commercial bus driver, who was stopped, reportedly
refused to pay them any money and was ordered to park by the roadside.
After the driver parked, one of the passengers was said to have alighted from the bus to urinate in a bush.
It was revealed that the driver, on discovering that the attention
of the policemen had shifted to another vehicle, quickly drove off,
abandoning the man that went to urinate.
A monarch, the Owa Tapa of Itapa Ijesha, Dr Olapade Agoro, whose
university’s site was around the area, said the abandoned passenger was
picked up by the policemen and handcuffed to the patrol van.
He explained that the victim was handcuffed to the van for over two
hours during which he soiled himself, as his cry for mercy fell on deaf
ears.
He said, “The sad and highly embarrassing incident happened on
Sunday (September 10, 2017). The commercial bus the man was travelling
in was stopped by the police for the usual ‘palm greasing’. The man came
down from the vehicle to urinate.
“However, the deal between the driver and the policemen failed,
prompting the police to ask the driver to park properly by the roadside
while they attended to another vehicle.
“While they focussed on the other vehicle, the driver used the
opportunity to speed off, leaving behind the passenger who went to
urinate in the bush. When the passenger came back to discover that the
bus had gone, he made enquiries about its whereabouts.
“Immediately the police officers discovered that he was on the
bus that sped off, they pounced on him and thereafter handcuffed one of
his hands to the back of the police van. The man was left handcuffed to
the vehicle between the hours of 11am and 1pm, during which he urinated
on himself and wept profusely.”
He said he was angry at the maltreatment of the victim and he challenged the policemen.
Agoro said the cops subsequently released the passenger, who later came to his palace to appreciate the intervention.
“While still crying over his ordeal, he made me to realise that
he had no money as the policemen had forcefully removed the last money
on him from his pocket. I had to, on compassionate ground, give him
N1,000 that enabled him to find his way back to his Aramoko Ekiti place
of abode,” he added.
The traditional ruler said the inscription on the patrol van showed
it belonged to policemen from the Osun Police Command, adding that fear
prevented a resident from taking a clear snapshot of both the victim
and the patrol number.
He, however, said he would recognise the men if he saw them again.
“I have a university site around the place, so there is a bump
on the road. Because of the bump, vehicles are forced to slow down and
the policemen use that as an opportunity to extort money from commercial
drivers. Sometimes, they shoot indiscriminately. They have been doing
this for a long time, but this incident was appalling.
“The situation of things in this country is terrible; but the
policemen should not have tied the man down like an animal. The man
urinated on himself and they didn’t care until I challenged them,” he added.
The spokesperson for the state police command, SP Odoro Folashade,
said she could not react to the incident because the case had yet to be
reported to any police station.
She said, “He should go and report to the nearest police
station; then I will call them and find out what happened. What reaction
do you want from me when the case has not been reported? He should go
and establish his case, and then we will investigate.”
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