Lagos Policemen Almost Kill This Guy On His Way To Church, Rupture His Intestine

A 200-level university student, John Ekefre, has been
admitted at Lagos State University Teaching Hospital
after policemen from the Iponri division, Lagos,
tortured him and damaged his intestine.
His elder sister, Mercy Ekefre who visited LASUTH
on Tuesday said the family had spent over N200,000
on John’s treatment.
He was said to have been operated on to rectify the
internal injury and to remove “the blood clots” that
blocked his chest as a result of the torture.
In her words: “The doctor said his intestine was
ruptured and that he had a blood clot. He had a
surgery and we are still awaiting the medical
report.”
It was learnt that John, an appendicitis patient who
works in a cinema house in Surulere, and four other
friends were going for a church programme tagged,
The Experience, organised by the House on the Rock
at the Tafawa Balewa Square, Lagos Island, after
they had closed from work around 11pm on Friday,
December 4.
John and Anthony Kenkwo, a graduate of a
university in Imo State, had waited for three other
colleagues – Michael Peter, Godwin Ekeji and Joy
Imoh on the fateful day so they could attend in a
group.
It was said that on getting to the Costain area, the
vehicle that the young men boarded ran into
gridlock and they decided to alight from the
commercial bus.
According to Punch report, they were walking by the
roadside when they were arrested by the policemen,
who accused them of robbery.
John said he and his friends showed the cops their
identity cards, but were rebuffed. He said the
policemen beat him to a coma when he demanded to
know what their offence was.
He said, “I work at a cinema in Surulere. We were
on afternoon duty that fateful Friday. We closed
around 11pm and left for TBS to attend a church
programme – The Experience 10.
“When we got to Costain, we alighted from the bus
we boarded because there was gridlock.
About five policemen on patrol stopped us and we
told them we were going to the church. They
searched our bags, but nothing incriminating was
found there.
They forced us into their bus. We showed them our
identity cards, but they ignored us.
“On our way to the station, I asked them what our
offence was and they said we were highway robbers.
When we got to the station, they dragged me down,
beat me up and one of them hit me in the stomach
with the butt of his gun.
“They said I was too inquisitive. The following day,
they collected N6,000 from my brother before I was
released.”
Kenkwo said a policeman pummelled him when he
complained that their arrest was not justified. He
said he eventually parted with N5,500 before he was
release.
He said, “It was a bitter experience. Every Friday
and Saturday, we run late night shows. After the
close of work, Ekefre and I waited for three other
friends from Apapa so that we would go to the
programme in a group. The traffic was hectic that
night and we decided to disembark from the bus
because the guys with us looked stern.
“I also asked the officer who took my statement what
I did. But he responded with punches. It was while I
was in the cell that I started bleeding from the nose.
“They charged me N10,000 for bail. It was after my
brother bargained with them that they collected
N5,500. They collected N5,000 from Godwin (Ekeji’s)
family, but Joy, the only female among us, was
released free.”
Peter said the policemen collected N8,000 before he
was released.
Godwin could not be reached but Ekefre confirmed
that his relative (Godwin’s) paid N5,000 for his bail.
A lawyer and President, Citizens Rights Defenders,
Chief Gabriel Ojumah, said he had, in a petition
dated December 14, urged the Inspector-General of
Police, Solomon Arase, Federal Ministry of Justice
and the National Human Rights Commission “to
investigate the matter and bring the erring
policemen to book.”