EndSARS: How police threatened to shoot me because of my innocence
In time like this when Nigerian public and the international community are becoming unequivocal in condemning police brutality, it is quite worrisome that some elements in the Nigeria Police Force are still unmoved in furthering impunity in the face of protracted protests.
They seem to be living in another world. It also appears that the prevailing struggle demanding the police to put an end to their nefarious mishandling of the citizens is just a waste of energy, a waste of time and a waste of blood.
On Thursday 22nd October 2020 at about 8:00 am, a bus with the plate number, DUU-166XA, which conveyed us from Uyo to Calabar, came to a roadblock mounted by the policemen just immediately after the Cross River head bridge. To the shock of the passengers, one of the policemen, Ebri Imoke, suddenly push a drum on way of our bus that was slowly following another vehicle at a very close range. Passengers screamed in fright.
I remained calm, and watchful. Imoke and co demanded a bribe from the driver, who apparently had nothing to offer them. I heard one of the policemen ordering the driver to pack very well. A concerned male passenger who sat right beside me demanded that the police should let us go since they probably found nothing against the driver. This incensed Ebri Imoke and he asked the passenger to step down from the vehicle or he shoots him if he wants to do #EndSars here.”
This was astounding. The young man alighted and he was dragged about by the rest of the policemen. I was still on my seat watching the ensued drama until one of the policemen wearing black pullover came around, scanned through all faces on board the bus, then stopped, took a long look at me, and asked me to step down from the bus.
As I was stepping out from the vehicle, the mean-looking policeman suddenly snatched my phone from me, and took away my black ballpoint pen. Oga I dont care whether you be lawyer, journalist or whatever, he yelled at me. When I fully got down from the bus, I was asked by the police to unlock my phone and to explain the sort of pen I was holding. I told them that I was not going to unlock my phone because it contains confidential details.
As the officers of the law, I believe they should have known that it is unacceptable to invade the privacy of citizens through indiscriminate and unauthorized search of mobile phones, laptops and other smart devices except in an event of ordered investigation. In fact the Inspector-General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu openly banned this primeval act of unauthorized invasion of privacy on 4th October, 2020.
Those policemen said we are not going to leave until I opened my phone for them to see if I had recorded them. One policeman, who wore a camouflage, came out from an old modeled Lexus saloon car; he first of all collected my ballpoint pen, detached it, and searched every inch of it to ascertain if it is a spy pen camera. When he confirmed that it is just an ordinary pen, he returned it to his colleague and then took my phone from him, and confronted me with it. He swore that if I waste time in unlocking my phone he would shoot me and nothing would happen. With outright threat to life and pressure from the driver and few passengers that came out to plead, I conceded to their demand.
After I unlocked the phone, the policeman took it from me and said that I should start imagining what would happen to me should he discover any video, audio or picture that concerned them. He took his time to search through my files. When he became satisfied that the phone contained no recording or picture indicting them, he gave the phone to his colleague who further returned it along with pen to me.
After handing back my belongings, the police man who put on pullover boasted that they stay in the heart of the bush, and that no form of #EndSars protest could work there. He said if they are confronted with any “#EndSars rubbish” they would waste the campaigners no matter how large their number would be, and nothing would happen. At this point my heart sunk and I wondered if there could ever be an end to prevailing timeline of all manner of police brutalities in this nation.
After we were finally allowed passage to continue our journey to Calabar, a fellow passenger drew to my attention that he had videoed the initial stage of the police intimidation. He didnt record the whole sad episode apparently because of lack of storage space or colossal threats by the police. The passenger transferred the video to me which I attach to this write-up.
Extortion of motorists by the security operatives along Calabar-Itu road appears to continue unabated. On my way back from Calabar to Uyo in the evening of that same day, one policeman at that same spot by name Eshaji Sunday, was delaying a driver who was taking a sick elderly passenger to Akwa Ibom, simply because he didnt pay.
It seems the protest in Nigeria against widespread police brutality is like water off a ducks back. It looks like some policemen are either above the law or bigger than the Federal Republic of Nigeria or both. It is unfortunate that in this period of tension, some of our men in uniform still take injurious actions with no recourse to the national mood.
I had to call CSP Ngozi Nkwoma who happened to be in an officer in charge of Public Complaint Bureau, Force Headquatres Abuja in order to commence the complain processes and to find out if the Force has reviewed its Standard Operating Procedures (SOP), Code of Conduct and Rule of Engagements thus providing tolerance to arbitrariness. She simply said, I know that you know the truth but said she could not comment because she was not at the Force Headquartres.
I called the Police Public Relations Officer for Cross River State, DSP Irene Ugbo, to find out if it is the new police directive from the state Command for the personnel to be extorting money from the motorists while checking passengers’ phones to see if they are being recorded. She said the command could not do such thing, wondering why the personnel could indulge in underhand practices despite several professional training organized for them. DSP Ugbo maintained that police personnel in Cross River State are very professional in approach except for the few bad eggs that give the Command bad name.
While seeking thorough investigation into this unruly and unprofessional conduct, I call on IGP Mohammed Adamu and the entire Police Force to listen to the yearnings of Nigerians against police harassments and brutality. The public put so much faith in the police and without this security outfit our society descends inexorably to chaos and anarchy. The police institution should be reformed and be conducted in a way that brings pride to the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
