A 57-year-old man has told how four soldiers gave him the beating of his life because he
allegedly refused to ‘settle’ them N250, which they allegedly demanded.
The victim, Sunday Akomolafe, a
retiree of Nigerian Legion said that the men, in OP MESA van, with Air Force 07
written on it, came to their park at Ahmadiyya area of Lagos State, insisting he
should, ‘give them their dues.’
He said that when he told them to
wait for the executives of the park, they attacked him. One of them hit Akomolafe
on the jaw with the butt of his gun, while others beat him up.
The brutalizing of Akomolafe has
left fear and tension among other tricycle operators in the area.
Akomolafe recalled that a few minutes after they left him in a pool of his blood, policemen attached to Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), strolled into the park, carting away five litres of petrol and a jack.
According to the operators, they used to pay N500 every day to different security teams that visit their park. They maintained that the constant patrol of the park by security agents made them work under tension even though they were duly registered.
Akomolafe recounted: It happened on March 3, around 11am. I saw four OP MESA men. They came in a van with Air Force 07 written on it. They asked me for their ‘due’ and I told them that our executives were not around. Usually, it’s our executives that used to pay them.
“But they did not listen to my
explanation. They asked me to raise N250 by all means. When I refused, one of
them slapped me from the back. They all gathered and beat me. One of them hit
me with butt of his gun. People started begging on my behalf, fearful they
would kill me. But they did not listen. I had lost much blood before I was
rushed to the hospital. I was admitted. I was discharged just yesterday (Wednesday)."
The operator said that security operatives usually resorted to harassments whenever riders were unable to 'settle' them.
Another operator, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “I was with Baba (Akomolafe) at the hospital when I received a call that three officers in clothes with SARS written on it, had gone away with my fuel and jack. But they said they did not know whether the policemen were from Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) or Lagos Command SARS.
"These uniform men never allow us to have peace! About four teams of OP MESA used to come here almost every day to disturb us. They would demand we pay each team N500. Policemen and Rapid Respond Squad (RRS) men also come to collect come and demand money. We don't have peace of mind. We believe they should be cautioned. At times, if we fail to pay, they would just take one of us away, collect his money and drop him along the road. Today now, I spent hours at a filling station before I was able to get that fuel. Life is not easy for us! We were registered by the council and we pay our dues regularly to its authorities. This is too much!”
Another operator, Yemi Ayinde, said riders were forced to dance to the tunes of the security men in the face of their guns.
The operator said that security operatives usually resorted to harassments whenever riders were unable to 'settle' them.
Another operator, who wishes to remain anonymous, said: “I was with Baba (Akomolafe) at the hospital when I received a call that three officers in clothes with SARS written on it, had gone away with my fuel and jack. But they said they did not know whether the policemen were from Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS) or Lagos Command SARS.
"These uniform men never allow us to have peace! About four teams of OP MESA used to come here almost every day to disturb us. They would demand we pay each team N500. Policemen and Rapid Respond Squad (RRS) men also come to collect come and demand money. We don't have peace of mind. We believe they should be cautioned. At times, if we fail to pay, they would just take one of us away, collect his money and drop him along the road. Today now, I spent hours at a filling station before I was able to get that fuel. Life is not easy for us! We were registered by the council and we pay our dues regularly to its authorities. This is too much!”
Another operator, Yemi Ayinde, said riders were forced to dance to the tunes of the security men in the face of their guns.
Ayinde said: “We are not touts here.
I don’t know why they keep harassing us with their guns.”
The spokesperson for Federal SARS,
Lekan Ogundare, and the Public Relations Officer Lagos State Police Command,
DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said the incident was difficult to properly investigate
since the command from which the team came could not be ascertained.
“If such happens again, the riders
should check whether it is ‘state SARS’ or ‘federal SARS’ that is on the teams’
clothes. We won’t condone such abuse,” Ogundare added.
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