A social media user narrated below
Of course, I have to tell you all what happened this morning.
It was indeed traumatizing but as someone who is already familiar with police harassment, this ordeal didn’t catch me by surprise.
Nigeria really prepares you for the worst but this is definitely not how to live. 💔
So, this morning, I was stepping out of my house.
I was actually at the main gate. I was about to open the gate when I saw that someone was outside. He greeted me and I responded.
Then he said, “I am a NEPA official.”
I’m like, “Ok, how may I help you?”
He said they came to check our electricity meters which is quite usual.
Based on street OT, I asked for his ID, and he said he doesn’t have it. I insisted, so he started calling his colleagues to bring his ID.[sup][/sup]
What happened next shocked me to my bones.
This fucking guy OPENED MY GATE FROM OUTSIDE!!!
Like how I kid you not. He opened the gate. If you know how jam lock works, you will know that if you don’t have the key, you can’t gain access.
This guy opened my gate effortlessly before I could even ID him. Christ!!!
Now, they had access, so there was little I could do.
When he entered, like 10 men came in with him. Bro, none of them was on Police uniform except for one of them who was carrying an AK-47.
I was like “Fuccccccccck, kidnappers ti wole…” 😭😭😭
Next thing, he blurted out, “This is the Police…”
I quickly comported myself and requested for ID. He didn’t have an ID but some other guy brought out a washed-up ID that was not even legible.
Then they ordered me to open my apartment.
I refused. That is where problem began!
They kept insisting that I must give them access to my apartment but I insisted on know why they want access to my apartment.
They told me they wanted to search my house, and I requested a search warrant.
They brought out a piece of paper and waved it in my face.
I told them to hand it over so that I could read it properly. They said they couldn’t give me for security reasons.
So, I said “If you won’t give me the warrant to read, I will not give you access to my apartment.
So, one of them went to my door and tried to forcefully open it.
Unfortunately for him, he could not force the door open.
You won’t believe what happened next. These guys brought out the warrant and it was there and then they wrote my address on the warrant.
Apparently, the warrant was blank without an address or a specific name.
This basically means that they came to my house with a signed warrant that didn’t carry my name or address. Ahhhh!
The guy who tried to force my door open, then came back and tried to get my house key off me. That was when I started struggling with him.
We dragged each other.
As e de drag my shorts, I de drag am back.
He wanted to remove my house key from my pocket by force, but emi gaan stubborn.
You’ll have to kill me first before you have access to my home illegally. Fortunately, he was not able to get my key because I stood my ground.
Few seconds after that, the officer that led the squad ordered him to leave me.
He obeyed and the leader took me to one corner and started giving me lectures on how wrong it is for me to resist a police officer.
Emi? As e de enter my right ear, e de commot for the left one.
I insisted that I must read the warrant properly before anything else.
So, he asked them to give me the warrant so that I could read it to my satisfaction.
I said, “Now, you’re talking…”
They didn’t give it to me tho but they held it while I read it.
While I was reading, they had already ransacked my neighbors’ apartments.
Apparently, I was the only one “trying to prove stubborn”.
So, after reading the warrant, I opened my apartment for them to search but of course, I allowed only one of them to enter.
The person I allowed entered my apartment and started turning my whole house upside down.
They went everywhere in my house, even my trash can. They turned the trash out and said something about “forensic investigation”. 😂🤣
Omo, he checked everywhere while I watched.
After about 30 minutes of searching, nothing was incriminating to see.
So, I asked them to leave. Now, this is the unbelievable part.
They asked me to change my clothes and I asked them for what? They said I must go to the station. Ahannnn
Go to the station for what
Them: We’re not convinced that you’re not a criminal.
Then I asked them what prompted this harassment in the first place.
These were their words:
“We were informed that some young people live in this house and you all don’t go to work. You stay indoors always. So we suspect that you all are criminals.”
Ahhhhhhh!
So, I asked them if they’d never heard of remote work or work-from-home before.
They said, “When you get to the station, you will explain what remote work is…”
See me, see wahala o!
I stood my ground and told them I was not going anywhere until they told me my offense.
All these while, my dogs were barking aggressively as they heard my voice while I was arguing.
So, they went around the house and the only police officer who was wearing a uniform and carrying an AK-47 cocked his rifle and aimed for one of my dogs.
Na there I craze finish.
I told him, “If you shoot my dog, that will be your last shot, I swear it with my life…”
I insisted that I won’t go with them but when I saw that they had already packed my neighbors into their vehicles, apa mi jabo. 😭😭😭
My neighbors need to do better. Awon omo ase. 🤣
People on my street mediated and asked me to go with them, and because my neighbors had already succumbed, I got into their vehicle.
They drove us to Phase 4 police station in Kubwa and they started interrogating us. Asking stupid questions and lying, of course.
They took my neighbor’s phones and laptops. They went through them.
I refused to hand them my phone but everything they requested for, I showed them. There was really nothing to see.
They wanted to check my bank apps and picture gallery, but I refused vehemently.
These guys were asking me how much my salary was. Asking me how I get paid monthly. Asking me what currency I get paid in, because they saw a lot of African Union documents in my house.
They made me show them my Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn accounts.
They requested to see my photo gallery and bank apps but I refused.
It was when they saw “Gbajabiamila” consistently on my accounts, that they decided to back down.
They equally harassed my neighbors too. In fact, they packed all the young tenants in the house.
While in the house, they tried to force my car open with a remote controller (I don’t know where they brought that from).
They kept pressing the remote to unlock my car but the car didn’t respond.
Can you imagine this level of unprofessionalism? Man!!!
From the information available, Phase 4 Police Command in Kubwa is a haven of rogues from top to bottom.
They promised me that they’ll be back and I know that they’ll be back. I full ground ooo but
@PoliceNG @PoliceNG_CRU @FCT_PoliceNG, please take note.
I am back home now after hours of trauma in the hands of @PoliceNG.
This is what young Nigerians go through every day. This is not the first and I believe it won’t be the last.
Bottom line is, we cannot continue to live like this. This should not be a way of life at all.
You can’t be a young man, living by yourself, trying to make a way out of this huge mess of a country without those saddled with the responsibility of protecting you and maintaining law and order, being the main source of harassment and extortion.
Absolute madness!!!
When my friends call me, the most consistent question is, “Demola, what are you still doing in that country?”
That question is really heartbreaking. You may not realize it but it is a very heartbreaking question.
What am I doing in my own country? Ahhhh, this is sad!.
