Policemen in Lagos trade blames over death of 20-yr-old man

The mysterious death of a 20-year-old man, Nzeribe Manu on May 20, 2011 has thrown the entire Police Force in Lagos State into confusion. The circumstances surrounding the demise of the young man, the

only son of a female Police Inspector attached to Area F, Ikeja, is as bizarre as it is intriguing.

Though about three police officers attached to Denton Police station are presently cooling their heels at the cells of the State Criminal Investigations Department, SCID, Panti, Yaba over the case, the mother of the dead man has been crying for all those who had a hand in the death of her only son to be brought to book without delay.

On their part, both the detained police officers and their colleagues at Denton are saying that their hands are clean over the death of the man. They are pointing accusing fingers at a Police officer who employed the man as his personal driver.

The Officer, a superintendent of Police attached to the State Command headquarters in Ikeja, however, believes that the police at Denton are trying to cover up the brutality meted on the man after he was arrested which eventually led to his untimely death.

The only man who was with the deceased when they were arrested by the policemen, Jude Okolie (31) narrated his own side of the story to Crime Guard, “It started on May18, 2011, when myself and Nzeribe were arrested in an ash color Toyota Corolla saloon car with registration number EK 894 APP, as we were coming from Apapa road, where Nzeribe who was sick went for medical attention.

The car belongs to a friend of Nzeribe. On our way coming back, one Police armed Sargent just jumped into the road and stopped us. The only response Nzeribe gave him was, Oga, you are not supposed to stop me like this. The policeman started harassing him, stating that he must identify himself, if not he will take him down to their station. Nzeribe then told him, ‘I be Oga boy’.

We all came down from the vehicle while the policeman kept on harassing us. At this stage, he insisted that we must surely follow him to the station and he entered our car, sitting on the back seat behind the driver. We then drove towards the station.

When we came to a sharp corner, he just ordered Nzeribe to turn and park the car but because could not take the path he wanted him to take as it was too sudden and the corner was very sharp, Nzeribe could not take that side. We then went down straight to enter from another side.

At this stage, the policeman was angry and started dragging beating Nzeribe from behind and struggling with him on the steering. He was beating him seriously while he was on steering. In fact, I was shouting because his gun was pointing at me while he kept on hitting Nzeribe all over his body.

When we eventually stopped the car, the policeman dragged him out from the car and continued beating him all over his body. I then jumped out of the car and started pleading with the policeman telling him that we were just coming from a hospital where he went to take treatment but he did not listen to me.

This time, the other of his colleagues came and joined in the beating and cursing him. I was shouting that he was sick and should be spared but they kept on beating and dragging him towards their station. When we entered the station, they stopped the beating and asked for our identities.

Nzeribe told them, “I be Oga boy from state command” On hearing this, they started slapping him asking whether that was why he did not respect them? They later searched and kept us behind the counter. Nzeribe later called both his Oga and his wife, also a Deputy Superintendent of Police, DSP, telling them what happened.

His Oga and his wife later spoke with those policemen and they said okay, we should write statement before we would be freed from their station. Unfortunately, they wrote the statements and forced us to sign which we did out of fear.

They did not even allow us read the statement as they were shouting and threatening us. That was how they allowed us go around 12 midnight or 1am. When we came back to our house at Superior Police Officers, SUPOL, quarters in Ikeja, G.R.A., Nzeribe was shivering, complaining of pains all over his body. He did not sleep soundly that night.

The next morning, I noticed he was also in great pains. There was a laceration on his face with traces of blood which I did not even see that night. I did not see any other mark on his body because he was wearing jacket throughout the night.-Vanguard