An Oyo State-based pap seller, Babajide Oluwaseun, who was brutalised by men of the Nigeria Police Force in Oyo, recounts his experience with FATTEH HAMID
You blamed the police officer for causing the accident which led to the argument that made him to assault you. Can you relay how the incident happened?
It was on Monday, January 23, 2023, I was going to New Cele Area, Oyo, from Jobele for a business purpose. When we got to Owode Roundabout, we were stopped by the cop controlling the traffic. We obeyed and waited for a while till he passed us. However, he was at the same time collecting money from some commercial buses that he also passed to go simultaneously. By passing two opposing lanes at the same time, the bus hit my vehicle and that was what caused the accident. I met with him after the accident to challenge him that if not for lack of concentration, the accident would not have happened and that he didn’t bother to attempt to rescue us. But instead, he removed his baton and struck my head with it, before I knew it, blood was gushing out from my head profusely and I became weak. I would have died if I was not rushed to the hospital. Bystanders rushed me to a nearby chemist’s shop where the bleeding was stopped, and my head stitched. I took pictures of it when it happened and when I got home, I decided to post it on social media.
So, you’re saying the cop was collecting bribes and that distracted him, making him allow two vehicles on opposite directions to move at the same time?
Yes. He would have been focused without taking bribes because nothing would have distracted him from the traffic he was controlling. However, because of the money he was collecting from those commercial buses, his attention was divided, and this led to the accident I was involved in.
You said it wasn’t the police officer that got you treated. How were you treated?
It was people around who supported me. They were the ones who rushed me to the nearby chemist. A lot of people stood by me at that moment, and they were the ones who saved my life because I was already weak due to loss of blood. It was the bystanders at Owode who helped. I tried approaching the policeman after the treatment and they were the ones who advised me to just go home and have myself adequately treated.
Have you gone to the hospital to have a proper look at the extent of the damage done?
Yes, I had to report myself to the clinic of the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo for adequate treatment. It was there that the deep cut I had was appropriately tended to.
Did the police offer to pay for your medical bills and also pay compensation?
Yes. Not only the injury on my head, my phone also got damaged when he struck my head with the baton. I believe that the traction and shares that my social media post got was what made them aware from their office that a cop has committed an offence and they traced my address down to my mum’s place. Their DPO went to my mum’s place and begged that I should take down my post from the social media, but I declined, stating that I needed to see the officer that brutalised me so that he can tell me what exactly I did to deserve being battered. My phone was iPhone 11 and my friend’s phone was an iPhone 12 both of which were affected and were repaired for N37,000 which they offered to pay back. When the police officer who brutalised me came to our place, he begged that he was going to pay for the damages, but my mom insisted that I should not collect the treatment bills but only for the repair of the phones. The third day after the incident, he came around and paid N30,000 and up till this moment, he hasn’t paid the N7,000 balance.
How did you feel after you were assaulted by the police?
It was quite pathetic and an embarrassment to the Nigeria Police Force. It was also annoying to be so brutalised on that day because I was peacefully moving when I was assaulted with his baton. Imagine if he had a gun, he would have shot me dead. There are many cases like that which have happened in the past that we read about where innocent Nigerians lose their lives to the carelessness and lack of patience of police officers. A closer example was the #EndSARS protest where innocent people were killed. I remember that a journalist like you, Pelumi Onifade, was killed as well. It was with that enthusiasm that I took it up because I believe it must not be swept under the carpet. If I kept mute, the same officer could still repeat it to another person, believing that nothing happened when he did it the last time.
You posted your photograph and an explanation of what happened to you on social media. Why did you take such action?
It was because I wanted the public to know that a lot of things are happening. We are in a digital age, and I believe no harm can come to me. The brutality of the police is now worrisome and going out of hand. Police brutality here and there without any reason for manhandling or assaulting innocent Nigerians; it is also not the first time that the police will harass me. Last year, the same thing happened. I was inside my room when the Police Monitoring Unit from Durbar Police Station, Oyo, harassed me. I just finished work after a very hectic day and decided to put on my generator in order to sleep. Just a few minutes into my sleep, the generator went off and I was surprised because the fuel inside of it should not be less than four hours. I went out to check only to find six cops on my doorstep. They claimed that some boys who sat under the tree opposite my house ran away when they saw them. So, they decided to put off my generator because of that.
I was asked to open my door. They also asked if they could search me, questioning me how I got a generator and what was my livelihood. I told them that I was an ex-corps member and they insisted on seeing my ID card. They asked me to open my wardrobe, open my phone; they checked my bed and went to my kitchen. I challenged them again that they were harassing me and that if they needed more confirmation, they should go to the Federal College of Education (Special), Oyo, popularly called SPED and ask for Ayofunmi Oni Koko, that I was the popular pap seller on the campus. It was at that point that they were apologising for the inconvenience. Mind you, all these happened in the presence of a visitor that I had. I queried them on how possible it was for me who was in my room sleeping to know the boys who ran away and if I hid them under my bed or in my wardrobe that they were searching. That encounter with them last year and similar experiences that I have read about fuelled the need to put the brutality outside in order for people to see what they did.
Have you forgiven the policeman that assaulted you?
Yes, I have forgiven him, but he needs to pay my balance of N7,000 for the damages he caused me.
Why did you forgive him?
I forgave him because he came back to apologise about the incident and that it was the devil’s handiwork that led him to strike my head with the baton. Also, since he came to apologise, I’ve forgiven him. I just hope that a repeat of such an incident will not happen.
What will you do if your N7,000 balance is not paid? Do you intend to go to court?
It depends. Some people appealed to me that I should exercise patience and give him some time because of the current economic situation in the country. However, if he refuses to pay me back, I will still need to reignite the case in order to ensure that my money was completed.
How did your parents react to the development?
When my dad heard about the issue, he was shocked and asked why such injustice was done to his son, but the police officer also begged him, and that it was the devil’s handiwork. In my mum’s case, she’s the gentle type, and when she heard me insisting on collecting the medical bills and damages for the phones, she begged me that I should let the medical bills go and I should be thankful that I was alive. She added that if I was dead, what could I have done? I had to obey her, even though I was angry, I just had to succumb and listen to what she asked of me.
What do you think the police need to do better to protect citizens and not assault them?
I believe the police should be properly trained and given adequate orientation on the things that they need to do. I will advise policemen to become more patient while executing their duties. They should not transfer of aggression or allow what they may be battling at home or the pressure at work to get to them. They should know how to handle it so that they won’t resort to harming innocent citizens.
If the cop wasn’t taking bribes, you won’t have been brutalised? What would you also say about policemen collecting bribes generally?
It has become a doctrine for the police to take bribes despite being on the Federal Government’s payroll; it’s in the blood of some policemen. I think when cops become more faithful in their service to Nigeria, they won’t have to take bribes. They should also be well remunerated. If not, before you know it, some of these motorists who policemen take bribes from would be allowed to move their contraband goods because they know that when they bribe policemen, they would be allowed to go. Policemen have a duty to ensure this does not happen by appropriately carrying out their duties with integrity.
