Police brutality and violation of human rights of the Nigeria citizens have once again come to limelight with a recent incidence in Ondo State.
An overzealous policeman at Ode-Irele in the Irele Local Government Area of Ondo State reportedly injured a nurse of official duty on her way to the hospital. This occurred at a roadblock mounted to enforce the curfew ordered by the state government.
The nurse is known as Modupe Ajama, how was being conveyed by a motorcycle (okada) fell from down after the policeman threw a stick at a motorcycle.
In her testimony, she said, “On April 22, I received an emergency call from my colleague around 8.20pm to come and lend a helping hand to a pregnant woman, who was in labour with a twin gestation, being a professional midwife licensed by the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria.
“I was to receive the babies from the theatre and resuscitate one of them, who had fetal distress. I immediately came to the Irele-Okitipupa Road and saw a motorcyclist, who just dropped off a passenger, and I asked him to convey me to the hospital.
“Getting to the Irele roundabout, we saw a checkpoint and I explained to the security agents there that I am a nurse working with the Irele General Hospital and that I was called for an emergency situation in the hospital and I showed them my identification card and I was allowed to proceed.
“We came across a second checkpoint around Bobby’s shop in Irele and I explained to the police personnel and I was allowed to go; we passed through the third checkpoint, but while approaching the fourth checkpoint around the Erica pharmaceutical shop, on sighting the motorcycle, a policeman just came from the left side of the road, threw a stick at it, which made the rider to lose control and both of us fell and the motorcycle skidded, dragging us both on the asphalted road to the other side of the road.
“The cop, who threw the stick came closer with a gun and I begged him to please take me to the hospital as I needed to be attended to, but he just left us and said ‘Good for you, God catch you, bastard’. The policemen at the previous checkpoints, who saw the accident, rushed to where we were and got a motorcycle among the ones they had seized to take me to hospital.”
Now, one wonders the kind of training these policemen undergo. why would a policeman not be civil in his action towards the citizens? The Federal Government and the police authority needs to put such overzealous policemen in check. They must be taught to respect the human right of the citizens of Nigeria they are supposed to protect.
Written by Emdee David
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