“He repeatedly hit me with his gun,” Okada rider relives Lagos police brutality
Chuks, like many other commercial motorbike riders in Lagos State, is a hardworking Nigerian. He’s not a criminal.
Life is hard. But Chuks would rather work with his hands than steal from a fellow human being. He wakes up before 5:00 a.m everyday, mounts his bike (okada), and hits the road road to earn money the right way.
Like many okada riders who ply Bajulaiye Road in Shomolu area of the state, Chuks has been oppressed by men of the Nigerian police force.
These policemen are paid (or is it ridiculously underpaid) to fight crime and protect the likes of Chucks. But what obtains along Bajulaiye Road is totally different, residents told NewsroomNG on Sunday.
Around 1:00 p.m. on Sunday afternoon, Chuks was going about his lawful business when a police corporal from Alade police station, Shomolu, told him to stop.
“He ordered me to follow him to the police station but I politely asked him why,” Chuks told NewsroomNG after his ordeal.
“He had no reason. That’s how they torment us on this road. They drag us to the police station, seize our bikes and demand for money before releasing them.”
The incident happened at Adeshina bus stop portion of Bajulaiye Road.
Chucks said when he refused to follow the police officer to the station, he suddenly turned violent.
“He kicked me and repeatedly hit me with the butt of his gun,” Chuks said.
“He broke my okada and I will have to spend some money to fix it. This is my business. I am not a criminal.
“I have to fixe this okada,” he said.
Other witnesses recount how Chuks stood his ground and refused to be oppressed. A crowd gathered as the episode played out and some boys told the police Chuks will not be arrested.
NewsroomNG gathered the police corporal was in the company of an unnamed inspector who stood by as Chuks was being brutalised.
Another okada rider told us the police demand nothing less than N3,000 to release motorbikes that are unlawfully seized.
“They even demand for N10,000 some times depending on how ‘rich’ they think you are,” an okada rider told us.
“But if you can prove to them that you know a police boss or have relations in the military, they will let you go,” he said.
“It’s so sad that police officers harass hardworking and law-abiding Nigerians,” a resident told NewsroomNG.
“But when they see criminals, they run away. There was a time cult guys were shooting at each other here and I called 112. The woman on the phone told me the police would be there.
“They never came,” he said..
