Man narrates how him and his friend Were Shot By a Mobile Police At Close Range

My name is Akin. It was Friday 18th Nov 2016. As an IT Consultant, I had to go to Computer Village in search of some IT stuff. After I sent the device to my client via GAT, I stopped over at my friend's.

When time came to go home, we drove through Oshodi-Mushin going to Surulere. We just drove past a popular puff-puff place in Mushin when my friend said we could buy some because we were hungry. I said it's not safe to park by the main road. I decided to make a right turn by that Total filling station in Mushin maybe we could get a parking space off the road. On coming into another gridlock, we decided to make a U turn.

We almost finished turning, the time should be between 7:30pm and 8:00pm, when two mobile police officers came out of nowhere. One came to my side shouting move! move!! pointing his gun at me. Before I could say jack, the man shot right at me in close range. The officer looks drunk. I noticed he took like one step backward and aimed his gun properly at me. The bullet shattered my driver side glass, brush the top side of my seat close to the head rest, and went through the rear right passenger door, leaving a bullet hole and shattering the glass.

All I heard was a loud bang, my left ear deafened and a cold feeling on my left shoulder like blood flow.

I scampered like a terrified rat, climbing every obstacle just to get away from this danger. the officer stood still with the gun pointing downward. He seem to express a feeling of “I don kill somebody oh”. I kept driving forward so that we could get to a safe place. A boy on a bicycle followed us and kept asking “Bros what happened? Are you injured? What did you do to him? There is blood on your shoulder. But I was too terrified to wait. When we got to Bode Thomas, I packed close to Delta kitchen, came out to evaluate the damage. It was then that I realized it was a gun shot.

I went home, parked the car then went straight to Bode Thomas police station. After narrating my story to the officers on duty, they asked me to go report at Mushin police station. I told them I am scared of going back to that area. Up till this moment, the panic of that terrible experience still persist as I am afraid of going out.

Because of the bleeding, I had to go for medical examination to ascertain if it was life threatening. From Jalupon to Randle then transferred to LUTH emergency. I ended up sitting outside in the cold and mosquito from around 10:00pm till 8:00am the following morning. Though the doctors display passion with their job, it seems to be written all over their faces that they are choking of resources and they kept shouting there is no bed to attend to anyone.

The police brought a lady in the morning, her two legs chopped off with a cutlass after a container fell on her legs. It took up to 15 minutes to bring out a bed to lift her from the police vehicle. A doctor I spoke with said they had to go take a bed from the maternity ward. They could not attend to any of us that came on emergency all through the night. Until around 30 minutes later when I left, she was left on the bed. No drip, no first aid, no nothing. She kept begging, “please don’t let me die” They were asking who will pay for her and she kept telling them to take her phone from her bag and call her people, that they will pay. On Sunday, I read in the news the lady died. 

Reading the body language of the doctors and the way events were unfolding, I had to go to another hospital where I was eventually treated. The x-ray result showed many tiny opaque objects under the skin. They were able to remove some of the metal and glass object.

Now I am back home thanking God I came back alive. Do I want this issue to die down? I don't think so.

I am using this opportunity to call on the Federal government, the Lagos State government, the IG of Police, the commissioner of police, the DPO in command Mushin area and all stake holders to plead my cause and fish out the perpetrator of this evil attempt on an innocent life. I am crying for justice on behalf of myself and other Nigerians that experience police brutality each day.

I will also add this word of advice, “Righteousness exalts a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people” Prov 14:34.
We cannot continue to shed innocent blood and expect God to exalt our nation. The primary responsibility of any government is security of lives and properties and police is the arm of government whose sole responsibility is to enforce the law and not break it nor plunge the nation into thick darkness of God’s anger by shedding innocent blood.

I am also calling on the Federal government and the IG of Police to put in place appropriate mechanism to forestall recurrence of this sought of act by our men in uniform. Many Nigerians lose their life each day to indiscriminate shooting and thirst for blood by some of our officers.
I have attached some pictures with this letter.

Please pass on this message on until it gets to the Inspector General of Police (IDRIS KPOTUN IBRAHIM), the Commissioner of Police Lagos State (Fatai Owoseni) and the President.