It was a gory sight at Oye Ekity in Ekiti State on Tuesday 12th of December 2017 when a police officer allegedly shot a commercial bus driver because of N50
The police opened fire to a moving bus when it appeared to them that the driver was not ready to comply with their demand of usual N50 extortion on the road.
The driver of the bus died at the spot after the vehicle got somersaulted while passengers on board also sustained various degrees of injury in the process.
One of the passengers (name withheld) who sat in the front seat with the driver but narrowly cheats death narrated his ordeal, described the scenario as very appalling, horrible and unbelievable.
According to him, they forced our driver to give them N50 but he begged them that he would see them the next day, they objected. So after pleading with them, he zoomed off.
“Immediately, the policemen fired gunshots at us severally. The bullet penetrated the driver’s head. Unfortunately, he died on the spot and our bus somersaulted; I was beside the driver.
“A passersby was also hit by a stray bullet and he was in a state of comatose and was rejected by the hospital I was taken to. They had to refer him to the FMC.
“I thank Jehovah though I sustained various degrees of injury. I thank God for the gift of life, that I didn’t die in the process.
“Indeed, Nigeria Police is the worst in the world. Their DPO lied to the government that it was an accident, but the journalists, Chairman NURTW Ekiti state, the slain driver’s son approached me at the hospital to get the right information which I did.
“The incident was aired on the radio and he had to leave the hospital for security reasons, albeit, they were planning to take him to the Commissioner of Police and the governor to explain the ugly incident.
“I thank God and the Bible in my hand if not, it would have been a different story. God you are alive and great. I thank the God of Israel for abiding with me.
“But I thank God, the news I just heard on the radio now is that the policeman that fired the shot has been arrested and detained” he narrated.
These extra judicial killings happening on our roads have become a recurring decimal and have claimed certain number of innocent lives.
Be that as it may, the armed security agents assigned to maintain sanity on our highways need to be checkmated and called to order by appropriate authority if the government is serious about protection of lives and properties of the citizens.
