Juliana Francis
The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Hakeem
Odumosu surprised policemen who were on patrol duty with him when he took a
mother and her three children to safety, rather than arrest them for flouting
the curfew in the state.
The woman, Nafisat Omitade and her
children would have been forced to spend the night in the Ojodu-Berger Park if
not for the intervention of the Police Chief.
The woman and her children were sighted at past
midnight, at Ojodu-Berger area of the state by Odumosu, who was on patrol duty,
arresting those that flouted the 8pm to 6am curfew put in place by the Lagos
State government to check the spread of the coronavirus.
Omitade and her children were coming from Osogbo in
Osun State, heading to Owode-Idiroko, Ogun State, to meet her husband, when
they got stranded at Ojodu-Berger, having reached the Park late.
Omitade said that her journey started from Osogbo,
where she boarded a bus heading to Ibadan, when she got to Ibadan, she took a
bus going to Lagos.
She recounted: “All the way from Osogbo to Ibadan,
we didn’t see any policeman or law enforcement agent on the road. It was a
smooth journey. Yes, I’m aware there is curfew in the country, but my husband
said that I should bring his children. This was why I decided to risk coming to
Lagos. But I never knew I would get to Lagos so late. It was when we got to
Lagos that I saw policemen. The policemen stopped the vehicles that conveyed us
from Ibadan. When we got to Berger bus stop, every passenger was asked to
alight. But after a while my children and I were allowed to go. It was when I
and my children were wandering, that the Police boss, who was passing by saw us
standing helplessly and came to our rescue.”
The grateful woman added: “I want to thank him,
because if not for him, I don't know what would have happened to my children and
I. He was kind to us, after which he took us to my grandmother’s house at Ojodu.
The following day, we continued our journey to Owode-Idiroko, Ogun State. The
impression I had about the Nigeria Police changed drastically after my
encounter with the Police boss. I will forever remain grateful to him and his
men.”
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