Our horrifying experiences with SARS – Victims of police brutality
Police yet to pay N10m fine ordered by court 7 years after
Habibu Umar Aminu (Kano), Jeremiah Oke (Ibadan), Abubakar Sadiq Isah (Abuja), Eugene Agha, Christiana T. Alabi (Lagos), Hameed Oyegbade (Osogbo) & Maureen Onochie (Abuja)
Operatives of the just disbanded Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) have been severally accused of brutalising, torturing, maiming and killing innocent Nigerians across the country.
As the #EndSARS protests continue across the country, some Nigerians who were victims of brutality and extra-judicial killings by the disbanded anti-robbery squad of the Nigeria Police Force have voiced out their ordeals under the ‘terror reign’ of the outlawed squad.
In the same vein, some citizens who were victims of police brutality during the #EndSARS protests across the country have shared their traumatic experiences and called for justice.
Oyo: Traumatised parents seek justice for slain son
Family members of a 29-yearold Jimoh Isiaka, who was killed during the EndSARS protest in Ogbomosho, Oyo State, have called for justice for their son.
Isiaka was killed and many were injured in the course of protesting against police brutality. An eyewitness confirmed to our correspondent that he was killed by a stray bullet shot by security operatives. He was confirmed dead at the Bowen University Teaching Hospital, Ogbomosho.
The young man was killed a week before his graduation as a trained electrician.
His 21-year-old pregnant wife, Zinab, who could not explain how the incident happened, insisted that the killer of her husband must be brought to justice.
The family of the deceased has appealed to Governor Seyi Makinde of Oyo State and Inspector-General of Police Mohammed Adamu to ensure that justice is served and killer of their son brought to book.
The father of the deceased, Jimoh Atanda, who was visibly sad, described his late son as a coolheaded boy who didn’t like to get involved in trouble.
“I was at Orita-merin, coming from Aroje when I received a call from his sister that her brother had been shot dead. I asked how it happened because I am aware that he was a cool-headed boy. She could not answer but said she was called by her mother.
She said she suspected that Isiaka decided to take a road where the protest was taking place while coming from work, but was shot from afar while watching the scene. That was how he was hit by the gun fired by the police. He was rushed to Bowen Teaching Hospital. We tried so much to save him but he eventually died. I donated blood for him but we could not save him.
I want justice for him. I want to beg the Oyo State Government to help me as he left a pregnant wife and a two-year-old child behind.
Education of the child is very important to me, and I know Governor Makinde is a man of mercy and of the people. I believe he would help us. Jimoh was due to have his graduation as a trained electrician on Sunday, but death took him away,’’ he lamented.
His mother, Ramota Jimoh, told Daily Trust Saturday that she spoke with her son few minutes before he was killed, adding that she warned him not to take part in the protest.
“I was at Oke Owode when I heard of the protest. I called him to know where he was and he said he was on his way home from work. Few minutes later, I called back and the call was not going through. His father later called me to meet him at Bowen Teaching Hospital. He told me that my son was hit by a bullet.
I ran to that place and was asked to donate blood. I did that, but we later lost him. I want justice. I also want the state government to help us as he left a pregnant wife and a two-year-old daughter. My son was killed over something he knew nothing about,’’ she recounted.
One of the protesters who gave account of the incident said, “We started the protest peacefully and marched to the palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso. The monarch sent someone to address us and charged us not to cause any problem. From there, we marched to the police station and submitted a petition to them. We were surprised as the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was seen holding a gun. Many of us got furious about it because it was a peaceful protest.
The leader of Ogbomoso Parapo later came to address us and asked us to go back to the palace. But to my surprise, as we were going back, I heard a gunshot, followed by teargas. When I looked back, I discovered that someone had been hit by the shot. The person happened to be Jimoh. He actually lived in the area but was not involved in the protest. He was in his shop before he decided to step out.
This actually got his neighborhood friends and peer group angry on Sunday when they heard the police said they didn’t shoot or kill anyone during the protest. They marched back to the police station at Owode, where two people were killed again and their bodies dumped at the station before they moved them to the palace of the Soun of Ogbomoso.”
The caretaker chairman of Ogbomoso Central Local Government Area, Adeyinka Oluwaseun, said he was surprised at the incident, adding that people of the ancient town were peaceloving.
“I am not happy with the incident. It was not expected because our people are peaceloving,’’ he said.
Also reacting, the caretaker chairman of Ogbomoso South Local Government, Oyedokun Timothy, said the incident was unfortunate, adding that investigations were ongoing to unravel the killer of the victim.
FCT: Family of ex-corps member still in trauma
The family of the late ex-corps member, Ifeoma Abugu, who allegedly died in the hands of SARS operatives in Abuja, said they were still in a state of shock over the
He alleged that his deceased sister, who just concluded his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, died in the custody of SARS. According to him, the ugly incident occurred four days after she had her marriage “introduction” in Enugu State. “Can you imagine that until this moment, my mum is not yet aware of the incident because she has been bedridden for some time now because of old age? If we eventually open up to her on the death of Ifeoma, she may collapse,’’ he said. incident.
Family members of the deceased ex-corps member had, through their counsel, Ifeanyi Mammah, petitioned InspectorGeneral of Police Mohammed Adamu, seeking investigation into the alleged rape and killing of their daughter by three SARS officers in Abuja.
Speaking with our reporter, the deceased’s elder brother, Alex Abugu, said the death of his younger sister, whom he said graduated from the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu State, was too difficult to get over.
He said the family was always in shock each time they recalled the circumstances that led to her gruesome death in the hands of the SARS officers.
“We are still in shock and state of devastation, especially anytime we remember the manner the SARS officers manhandled my sister. As I am talking to you right now, an autopsy had been carried out since the 25th of last month, but we are still waiting for the result,” he said.
Abugu recalled that he was in Lagos when he received a phone call on that fateful day that some SARS operatives from the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) police command came to Wumba village in the Lokogoma area to arrest his sister’s
fiancee, Afam Ugwunwa, but ended up whisking away his sister when they did not see their target.
He alleged that his deceased sister, who just concluded his National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme, died in the custody of SARS. According to him, the ugly incident occurred four days after she had her marriage “introduction” in Enugu State.
“Can you imagine that until this moment, my mum is not yet aware of the incident because she has been bedridden for some time now because of old age? If we eventually open up to her on the death of Ifeoma, she may collapse,’’ he said.
He said the family was in full support of the ongoing protests
to end SARS across the country, adding that their activities have left many families and relatives in grief and trauma.
Abugu called on IGP Adamu to, as a matter of urgency, carry out a thorough investigation to unravel the circumstances that led to the death of his sister.
Lagos: ‘ Police tortured us, said we lacked right to protest’
The brutal death of a football fan, Kolade Johnson, at a viewing centre in Lagos in 2019 had sparked a violent protest.
The young man was said to have been killed by operatives of the SARS. It is one of the many incidents that have reignited a public call for the scrapping of the police unit, which many have described as a killing squad.
The late Johnson was shot by officers of the squad attached to the anti-cultism unit of the police during a raid.
His family and lawyer had said the 36-year-old man and his friend were leaving a soccer viewing centre at Cement bus stop, where they had gone to watch a Premiership League match, when a stray bullet hit and killed him.
The officers were arrested, tried and dismissed from the police and subsequently charged with murder.
Other victims of police brutal killings in the state were Ayodele Solaja and Ogheneobo Ebobo. They were allegedly shot dead by four policemen at Ipaye bus stop on the Lagos State University (LASU)Igando expressway.
After the killings, the command had alleged that their victims were armed robbers, and that they had successfully robbed some passengers in a commercial bus.
The police statement caused another public uproar, forcing the state command to reinvestigate the matter.
The family of the two deceased persons accused the state Director of Public Prosecutions, Dr Babajide Martins of being an accomplice in the murder of their sons.
Dr Martins, in a legal advice dated September 16, 2019 he signed on behalf of the Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice, Adeniji Kazeem, with reference number CB:3514/LSXD4/Vol.6/31, stated that the policemen had no case to answer as they acted in selfdefence.
Also, a 27-year-old Okpara Nkemakolam Felicia, who was among the youths arrested and brutalised during the #EndSARS protest at Surulere, narrated her experience.
Felicia, whose video went viral, narrated that on October 12, 2020, she went for a job interview in Fayemi Street, Ojuelegba, after which she was asked to make photocopies of her credentials.
“Since I was not too familiar with the area, I walked back towards Ojuelegba. On getting to the bus stop, I noticed a gridlock, but I didn’t know what was happening. Shortly after that, I remembered that I read online of a possible #EndSARS protest at Surulere. At that time, I was already walking towards Baracks bus stop. When I saw that the protesters blocked the road, I decided to make a video of what was happening,
All of a sudden, SARS men started shooting, while people scampered for safety. I also ran for safety. I stood for a while at a spot while waiting for the gunshots to stop. Before then, I had joined my fellow youths in the protest against police brutality. Later on, policemen from the Area C command came out from the station, shooting and pointing guns at people. I remained where I was standing and brought out my phone to make a video of what was going on. That was when a man wearing a white t-shirt came and asked what I was doing. I told him I was using my phone and he told me to stop recording.
The policeman who approached me said I should give him my phone, but I declined. He started dragging me and smashed my phone. As he was dragging me into the police station, he and his colleagues were beating and hitting me mercilessly. At a point I urinated on my body when the beating became too much. I cannot tell precisely the number of policemen that pounced on me, hitting me all over my body,’’ she narrated.
Felicia continued, “When we got to the police station, the young women there also started beating me and another girl and a guy who were equally arrested. After beating us, they collected our phones and asked us to sit somewhere. Then, a man with a gun approached us and also started beating us. He began with the guy, beating him with his gun. Later, he stepped out and came back with a mopping stick, with which he hit the guy many times until the stick got broken. He also used the broken stick on the other girl by my side. We were begging, but the more we begged, the more slaps and beating we received, so we decided to stop begging.
When there was nothing more he could use, he pounced on me, hitting me with his gun. After that, they searched our bags and asked us to remove our bras and other underwear.
I quickly told the girl near me my name while she told me hers, in case any of us would not make it at the end of the torture because our families were not aware of our whereabouts. And we were not allowed to call anybody.
One of the young women told us to unlock our phones, saying that if any video was found, we would be taken to prison. She said we did not have the right to protest since SARS had been banned. At that time, I became very scared and pleaded with her to allow me talk to my daughter so that they would know my whereabouts. I was not allowed to call my daughter. After the torture, we were kept in the cell till evening.’’
She described the action of the police as heartless as she insisted on total reform.
“To me, a whole lot need to change about the police. Their mindset is outdated. There are so many illiterates among them, so they do not understanding the rights of citizens. They do not know the law; they only know force and brutality, and that is why they beat people anyhow. They are not intelligent; just as they do not like the internet because it exposes their stupidity,’’ she said.
Osun: Father of slain businessman recount ordeal
In Iwo, Osun State, a 45-yearold businessman, Ismail Ayinla, was allegedly robbed and killed by operatives of the SARS in July this year.
The father of the deceased, Pa Rasheed Ayinla, told our correspondent that his son was on a business trip from Owo in Ondo State, and that he lodged in a hotel in Iwo to avoid night journey because of armed robbers.
Pa Ayinla alleged that some SARS operatives, who also lodged in the hotel, robbed and killed his son. According to him, after killing him, they claimed that he was an armed robber, but other people in the hotel said they lied against the businessman.
It was learnt that residents of Iwo wanted to lynch the SARS operatives but for the timely intervention of the Oluwo of Iwo, Oba Abdulrasheed Akanbi.
The SARS operatives were subsequently arrested and detained at the police headquarters in Osogbo, the state capital.
The police public relations officer in the state, Mrs Yemisi Opalola, promised that the matter would be investigated, and assured that justice would be done.
However, it appears that members of the family of the late businessman have resigned to fate on the incident.