A commercial bus driver, Adewale Oseni, is seeking justice after he was allegedly assaulted by a police officer identified as Supol Akeem, attached to the Makinde Police Station in Oshodi, Lagos.
According to The PUNCH, the incident, which occurred on July 14, has left Oseni struggling with severe injuries and unable to provide for his three children.
Oseni recounted the incident, explaining that he was on his way home after purchasing food for his children around 10 p.m. when he was stopped by the officer, who is also known as “Spider” within the community. Despite Oseni’s efforts to show the officer the food he had bought and to appeal for leniency, Akeem allegedly disregarded his pleas and struck him with an iron baseball baton.
“The bus I drove had a mechanical fault at Iyana-Isolo, so I got a mechanic to fix it. The repairs took my time till past 10 pm. On getting home, my children, aged 14, 10, and six years old, had not slept. They told me the food I left for them before I left home had been eaten in the afternoon and they had nothing to eat in the evening,” Oseni shared.
“I left home that night to buy them food at a canteen nearby at Alhaja’s place on Oshodi Road. On my way back home, a vehicle parked closely behind me. I noticed he was a police officer attached to the Makinde Police Station at Oshodi known as Supol Akeem aka Spider. I pleaded with him and showed him the food I went to buy for my children, but he was heady and tough with me.”
Oseni was subsequently taken to the police station and detained overnight. The following day, he and several others who had been detained were transferred to the Lagos State Task Force office, where they were processed and taken to court. Despite his explanations, Oseni was sentenced to three weeks in Kirikiri correctional center.
“The next morning, he ordered all of us he picked that night to come out of the cell. We were about six in number. Some called their family members who came to bail them, and those of us who couldn’t reach out to our families were asked to write down our names,” Oseni explained.
“He then ordered us to board the minibus known as Korope and drove us to the task force office at Oshodi without being caught stealing and not being in conflict with the law.”
Oseni, whose wife passed away two months prior to the incident, said the injuries he sustained worsened during his time in prison, leaving him unable to work.
“Since my release on August 10, the pain continued. I couldn’t sleep or eat. I can’t do anything or go to work because of the leg. It’s just dripping water and paining me,” he said.
Oseni is now calling on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, and the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Kayode Fayoade, to intervene. He also demands compensation for the injuries inflicted on him by the officer and the prosecution of those responsible.
“This is simply police brutality, abuse of office, human rights abuse, racketeering, agencies conspiracy theory, and miscarriage of the criminal justice system against law-abiding citizens of Nigeria,” said Ebenezer Omejalile, Coordinator of Advocates for Children and Vulnerable Persons Network. He condemned the officer’s actions, describing them as “inhumane treatment.”
As of the time this report was filed, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, had not responded to calls or text messages seeking comment on the incident.
