“Settle or be detained as a criminal” – Police Inspector tells man who reported stray bullet incident in his home
‘Police is your friend’ is a saying that has been made popular by law enforcers in the country, but Nigerians continue to, in various ways, find out that the saying couldn’t be further from the truth.
A man, Wale, would also find the saying untrue when he stormed a police station at the Ilupeju area of Lagos to lodge a complaint about a stray bullet that had pierced his roof Wednesday afternoon.
Wale had found a bullet sitting comfortable on his couch where his children would normally play, and was thankful the kids were not around when the bullet found its way through the roof.
Confused and worried, he proceeded to the police station to submit the bullet and lodge a complaint.
Wale’s experience at the station was anything but encouraging. The police officer on duty threatened to detain him as a suspect if he didn’t “settle”.
Right there and then, he was bullied into paying for a crime he didn’t commit.
The distraught victim of police insensitivity shared his experience with a certain Inspector Fajuyi Obisitan at the Ilupeju police station.
“Around 2pm and 2.45pm today (Wednesday), I heard a loud bang. Some minutes later i found a stray bullet (pellet), which pierced through the ceiling and landed on a chair in my living room. Thank God my kids where not around when this happened. No one was hurt. I called my neighbour to witness the incident.
“I Proceeded to Ilupeju Police station, Coker to make a formal report of the incident.
“I met a certain Inspector Fajuyi Obisitan at the counter who asked me to explain all that happened. After my explanation, he laughed and queried my fears of an ordinary bullet of a revolver in the presence of detained fierce-looking suspects at the counter.
“I told him it’s not about fear but to officially lodge a report of a stray bullet in my house.
“After taking my contact details, he asked me to “settle” with a lady inspector. I was shocked and laughed asking why.
“Then he threatened and said it’s either I drop the settlement or I be detained and held as a suspect of a shooting crime. That I would be forced to present the gun I used to shoot. Saying I could have killed someone with a gun in my house then run to him to help me cover up.”
According to Wale, the turn of things was so ridiculous he burst into laughter. It wasn’t a case of a badly delivered joke from the officer, however.
“I was forced to part with all I had in my pocket (one thousand naira), thank God they didnt lead me to an ATM to make cash withdrawal,” Wale said.
“I don’t know if they eventually recorded my incident in their station’s crime diary because he ordered me to leave after collecting one thousand naira (N1000) and told me that my report will be entered in serial number 111 of 14th march, 2018 in their station’s crime diary,” he added.
Wale now nurses some fears as his “personal details and incident report was lousily discussed in the presence of detained strangers by a seemingly drunk police inspector behind the counter.”
Sadly, Wale’s experience at the station is not an isolated one.
Police officers across the country are known to be unapologetic with the overzealous manners with which they discharge their duties.
