In most parts of the world, the presence of policemen in an area evokes a feeling of safety. However, for motorcycle operators in the Adeniyi Jones area of Lagos State, the presence of policemen evokes fear.PUNCH METROlearnt that around 4pm on Tuesday, an unidentified okada rider passed out after policemen who had mounted a checkpoint on Talabi Street allegedly pushed him off his bike.According to an eyewitness account, the policemen flagged him down but he refused to stop. The policemen then pushed him off the bike, after which he fell and fainted.An artisan, who identified himself simply as Kasali said, About seven policemen from Wemabod Police Station stood by the checkpoint on Talabi Street around 4pm. They were carrying out their routine stop and search when an okada rider carrying a passenger was flagged down.The okada rider refused to stop and this infuriated the policemen who pushed him off the bike making him and the passenger to sustain injuries.Surprisingly, while the passenger stood up, the okada rider was unconscious.PUNCH METROlearnt that after over 20 minutes of attempting to revive the victim proved abortive, the policemen decided to carry him and the passenger into their patrol vehicle.I tried to see if the okada man was still breathing but policemen chased us away and threatened to deal with anyone who came close to the vehicle, our source said.A resident of Talabi Street, who identified himself simply as Johnson, said the policemen at the checkpoint were notorious and high-handed.He said, Im not complaining about the presence of the policemen, its their high-handedness. I cant stand it.Most of the time, they just extort money from commercial motorists and when these motorists refuse to part with money, they resort to harassment.An okada rider, who spoke to our correspondent on the condition of anonymity, described the incident as a common occurrence in the area.He said, The policemen are usually hostile towards us. They extort money from us at every opportunity and I think the authorities should look into it.You can imagine, after the victim fell from his bike, they left him on the road for almost 20 minutes before carrying him into their vehicle.When our correspondent called the spokesperson for the state command, Mr. Samuel Jinadu, for comment, he said he was unaware of the incident.He said, I havent heard of the incident. But let me make one thing clear, no member of the Nigeria Police is trained to be brutal or uncivil towards members of the public.Rather, we are trained to be law abiding and people-friendly. Any policeman who acts otherwise will be punished accordingly.
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