Just as the #EndSARS campaign frenzy was beginning to die down, a 27-year-old man, Mr Godwin Etim, has now bravely related how some operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) attached to Ojudu Abiodun
Police Station, Ogun State, and forcibly collected money from him.
Etim said that the policemen marched him to an Automatic Teller Machine (ATM) gallery, checked his account balance, before demanding bail money from him.
Etim said that harassment of young people in the community, from SARS men attached to Ojudu Abiodun Police Station and Ajuwo Police Station, was becoming unbearable.
Etim said: “We’re living in fear. SARS operatives are busy every day, looking for whom to extort. We are living at the mercies of these policemen, who raid our community every time.”
The further said: “These policemen tag every young man, including me, Yahoo boy’ in order to extort money from us. I’m a graduate of Accountancy, from one of the universities in the west. I have been looking for job. When I go out in search of a job and return, you don’t expect me to stay indoors, while other young men are at the playing field. But those playing grounds are no longer safe for us now. SARS men come to the playing ground every time to harass us. If you don’t have money at hand, they will march you to a nearby ATM gallery. When they get to the ATM, they will first check your balance before asking you for ‘settlement’. But sometimes, they take us to their station, especially if we don’t have enough money in our bank accounts.”
He said: “They my friends and I to ATM gallery. When they checked my account, I had only N50, 000. My father gave me the money to pay for my house rent because he stays in the South. The policemen collected N30, 000 from the money. I begged them that the money was from my father for my rent. I even told them that my father was a retired policeman, but they didn’t care. My friends have suffered similar fate. If they meet like 20 young men playing football in the field, nobody would Scot free without parting with money.”
Etim said that he suspected that Ojodu Police Station had been telling policemen attached to Ojodu-Abiodun Police Station about youths in his community.
He explained that the harassment they were facing presently from SARS men attached to Ojodu-Abiodun Police Station was what they were facing earlier in the hands of policemen from Ojodu Police Station.
“What the Ojodu-Abiodun policemen were doing to us was what the grammar school operatives were doing until their Divisional Police Officer (DPO) warned them to stop after several complaints from the community leaders. They are giving information to the Ojodu-Abiodun policemen to harass us, and our leaders have complained several times to the station, and nothing was done. The harassment is increasing every day.”
The situation that Etim painted about police harassment of youths in the community came to a head on Sunday. Youths in the community, in hundreds attacked Ojodu-Abiodun Police Station. They embarked on wanton destruction, leading to some policemen fleeing the station.
The youth vandalised parked cars and windows of police station building. It was learnt that the youth got angry after policemen, who were intent on arresting a fleeing suspected cyber fraudster otherwise called Yahoo boy, pursued him into a football pitch.
Before the chase, some youths were already playing football. When the policemen chased the fleeing suspect into the pitch, some of the youth resisted the policemen from arresting. Angry, one of the policemen opened fire; his bullet got a man identified as Dada Omotayo at the back.
Recalling the event of that Sunday, Etim said: “On Sunday this week, the policemen shot our friend where we were playing football. They rode to the football pitch area, and a few minutes later, one of SARS operatives called Jerry, with other two officers came with motorcycle to meet us. As usual, they came and called us together. One of the officers requested for our phones, which we resisted. In the midst of the argument, Jerry shot into the air and everybody ran for safety. Suddenly, for no reason, Jerry started shooting at us as we were running. We heard Tunde, Dada’s brother shouting. The police had shot Dada. At that point, we stopped and went back to assist him. When we saw the blood at the back of Dada, we went back to meet the officers. When they saw us, they took to their heels. They even abandoned their motorcycle at the football field.
“At that time, news of the incident has spread to the community that SARS had killed Dada, although Dada was not dead. But he was not able to speak as we held him. Youths in the community regrouped and carried Dada to the Ojodu-Abiodun Police Station, where the policemen came from. When we got there, the DPO came out to implore to us. He even brought water from his office to give to Dada. While we were there, other boys started entering the police station. They destroyed things. Let me tell you, the boys had been planning to attack that station for long because of the SARS men. They have been exploiting and extorting us. Sometimes, they would take us to the ATM and collect money from us. When they get to the ATM point, they will ask you to show them your account balance before they mention and collect the amount of money they want from you.”
Mr Tunde Omotayo, 25, who is seeking admission into higher institution, said that he had been arrested two times by the SARS operatives attached to Ojodu-Abiodun Police Station. He was able to settle them with the sum of N20, 000 and N30, 000 respectively.
According to Omotayo, he usually goes out with money in his pocket, so that if policemen stop him, he would have money to settle them. He knew that is what they wanted, he said.
He added: “Some of the policemen we learnt had been transferred out from this place, but they would work themselves back to the place because they are free to operate the way they like. Every young man in this community is tagged Yahoo boy by these policemen. While they are busy harassing youths in the community, criminal activities had been on the increase.”
A community leader, Princeton Adewale lamented that their children were no longer free to move around the community without fear of being harassed by policemen.
Adewale said: “This place has been hot for our children who are looking for what to do for a living. I learnt that the police in Grammar School Police Station were the ones encouraging those officers to raid our children because they were doing it before their DPO warmed them against it. The policemen stopped the activities, but now relied on policemen from Ojodu-Abiodun Police Station to be doing the job for them. We believe they get returns from the money extorted from our children who are being harassed every day.
“The harassment is an everyday occurrence. They do come around and raid innocent youths and take them to their station, where those boys would be bailed with N20, 000 to N30, 000. Some, who are not able to settle, are taken to the station. Others are taken to ATM point, where the police collect money from them. We have been complaining about those officers to the DPO’s of the two police stations, and nothing had done. Their activities are on the increase and we have been suffering in silent.”
He urged to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Mr Ibrahim Idris, to deploy a special team of policemen, who would monitor the illegal activities of the policemen.
Jide Lawal said that the way and manner SARS operatives extort money from people daily in Ajuwon community was alarming.
Lawal noted: “They stop every person riding motorbike in order to check his phones. Nobody can explain what they are looking for. They saw me one day with a laptop and jumped on me. I had to identify myself. Later, they begged me to give them some money. Before then, they said I was arguing with them. They threatened to take me to their station. I asked myself for what offence? I told myself that I would fight them to standstill. They always wear Tee-shirts without name tags, which makes it impossible for people to identify them.
“The worst policemen in the Nigerian Police were deployed to Ajuwon Police Station. They would just enter streets and start arresting young men. People are tired of their antics. It is unacceptable; young men are not free in their environment to move around. They picked these young men and take them to their station. They bail themselves with N10, 000 to N20, 000. These are the young men who are looking for what to do for living. Some of them are graduates, who are searching for jobs. And the security agents, who are supposed to protect them, are arresting them every day without any reason. People are afraid to mount motorcycles, which is the fast means of transport from Akute, Ajuwon to Ojodu Lagos, because of SARS men. They are always on ‘Stop and Search,’ operation, stopping everyone on motorcycles.”
Lawal noted that one of the day, he was going to computer village in Ikeja, to unlock his phone, he was with N10, 000.
He added: “I will not forget that day in hurry. I was stopped by the SARS officers. They collected my phone and requested for my Personal Identification Number (PIN), to open my phone. I told them that it couldn’t; that I was on my way to Ikeja Computer Village to unlock it. They accused me of stealing the phone. Later, they said I should settle them N10, 000. The cost of the phone was N35, 000. They collected the money from me and I went back home. They even told me that they had been monitoring me. I asked them the offence I had committed. One of them that was with a gun, replied ‘Mr. Man go your way.’ I know many youths in my area that have been arrested and detained in their station for committing no crime.”
A resident, who simply identified himself as Moruf, recounted that he was driving his Toyota Camry car and had his complete vehicle documents when he was flagged.
Moruf said: “After finishing checking my papers, they said I should bail myself with N200, 000. I wondered my offence was. They insisted that I must bring money before they allow me to continue on my journey. I didn’t have any money on me. I took them to the nearest ATM point to get money. I drew N150, 000 and they collected it from me without a single word. Those guys had been treating us badly. The IG must do something if he doesn’t want people to take the law into their hands. These men are armed robbers, parading themselves as SARS operatives. Before I forget, on that day, as I was arguing with them, my voice attracted passersby and people gathered. One of the policemen fired bullet in the air to scare the people. Some of them that were pleading on my behalf ran away, leaving me with them. I then decided to take them to any nearest ATM and give them the amount I had in the account.”
A community leader who doesn’t want his name mentioned said that he had written several letters to the force headquarter concerning the activities of the SARS men attached to Ajuwon and Ojodu-Abiodun stations, but nothing was done by the police authority, which means they had the backing of the senior officers in harassing Nigerians.
According to him, if the SARS men were after Yahoo boys as they claimed, the IG should define the responsibility of the officers to Nigerians.
His words: “SARS, as far I’m concerned, was set up for armed robbers. Their core job is to fight armed robbers. They are called Special Anti-robbery Squad not Anti-Yahoo Boy Squad. If police want to deal with the so called yahoo boys, they should set up intelligent officers that are well trained to deal on that. We have seen situation where SARS men are sent to prevent protest; you and I know the end of such stories. It is unacceptable and wickedness to send SARS operatives, which was set up to deal with armed robbers, to be harassing Nigerians.”
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