‘I was arrested on cautioning policemen over reckless driving’

An office support staff of the Lagos State Inland Revenue Service (LIRS), Mr. Michael Green, has alleged that he was detained at Makinde Division, on false accusation of being a thief and phone snatcher.

The incident allegedly happened on Friday June 7.

According to Green, he was riding in a colleague’s car when he cautioned the policemen who were coming from Ogun State in a Toyota Sienna car against dangerous driving.

Apparently irked by Green’s audacity, the policemen were said to have stopped his vehicle and arrested him.

He was taken to Makinde Police Division where the operatives who were attached to the Inspector General Squad claimed he was a thief and phone snatcher.

It took the intervention of his senior colleagues in his office before he wasfreed after a sum of N4, 500 was collected from them as bail fee.

‘’A colleague in my office gave me a lift in her car after close of work in the evening. When we got to Obadeyo axis of Lagos-Abeokuta expressway, the driver of a Toyota Sienna car painted in wine colour drove dangerously and almost ran into our car.

‘’Since I was seated beside my colleague who was driving the car, I told the driver of the Toyota Sienna car to stop driving dangerously, without knowing they were policemen.

‘’Suddenly, they came out of the vehicle wearing small badges indicating they were operatives of a special police team, they dragged me out of the car and asked my colleague to go.

‘’Inside their car, I noticed that they had arrested two conductors around Sango Ota area of Ogun State. They took us to Makinde Police Station, Oshodi, and accused us of being thieves and phone snatchers and they left the station.

‘’When I tried to explain to the policemen at the station that we are not robbers, they threatened to deal with me. If not for the intervention of my senior colleagues in the office, I would have been arraigned for a crime I did not commit.

“An officer at the station who they handed me over to called Hakeem collected a sum of N4, 500 for my bail before he releasing me. ’’

Contacted, police spokesman, Mr Bala Elkana, a Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) said records at the station did not confirm the story narrated by the victim.

He however promised that  a thorough investigation would be carried out to establish the veracity of the allegation.

‘’The records at the station in question have been checked and nothing confirms that such arrest on the said date.

‘’However, since the complainant has mentioned an officer called Hakeem as allegedly being the officer that handled his case and collected money for his bail, we would investigate the matter to confirm if that actually happened and revert to you(our correspondent).’’

As promised, the police spokesman later told our correspondent on the telephone that the officer called Hakeem had been identified and arrested.

‘’We have been able to identify the said officer called Hakeem. He said the policemen who brought the victim to the station were from Ogun State.’’

Elkana said a policeman named Hakeem curiously claimed the said victim dashed him the sum of N4,500 and was immediately arrested and is currently detained for investigation because “the Lagos State Police Commissioner will not tolerate indiscipline on the part of policemen.’’