A Lagos-based interior designer, Stephen
Akams, is currently on admission at the University of Benin Teaching
Hospital with a damaged eye.
Akams, is currently on admission at the University of Benin Teaching
Hospital with a damaged eye.
Punch Metro reports that the 41-year-old man said a medical
result he would get on Thursday (tomorrow) would determine whether he
would see clearly again with his left eye or not.
result he would get on Thursday (tomorrow) would determine whether he
would see clearly again with his left eye or not.
Akams
was battered last Thursday, March 24, along the Benin bypass, Edo State,
by some policemen numbering about seven while he was returning from an
assignment in Enugu State.
was battered last Thursday, March 24, along the Benin bypass, Edo State,
by some policemen numbering about seven while he was returning from an
assignment in Enugu State.
It was learnt that four of the policemen were in a vehicle ahead of a commercial car conveying the artisan.
The police van was allegedly in the
middle of the road, moving at a slow speed when the driver of the car
signalled to overtake it by blowing the horn. It was, however, said
that the policemen refused to give way for the driver.
middle of the road, moving at a slow speed when the driver of the car
signalled to overtake it by blowing the horn. It was, however, said
that the policemen refused to give way for the driver.
Akams, who spoke with our correspondent
on the telephone, said he also signalled at the policemen when the
blockade persisted, but they took offence and flagged down the car.
on the telephone, said he also signalled at the policemen when the
blockade persisted, but they took offence and flagged down the car.
He said, “Our driver was driving at a
speed limit of about 70 kilometres per hour, but the police vehicle was
going slower in the middle of the road.“In an effort to go past the vehicle,
our driver sounded the horn, but the driver, who eventually turns to be a
policeman, started abusing us.
“When we managed to go past them, I
signalled at the driver of the vehicle to caution him. That was when
they started chasing us and overtook us. One of the guys at the back
seat pulled a gun and threatened to shoot if we didn’t stop.
“We were not sure who they were, so we
decided to reverse and that was when we discovered that another white
vehicle was following us. They trapped us between them. They came down
with their guns – about six or seven of them – and dragged me out of the
vehicle. They accused me of insulting police officers and beat me up.”
He said the policemen turned down his entreaties, bundled him inside the boot of their car, and whisked him away into a bush.
“They asked me to bring N100,000 for
them to release me. I told them I didn’t have the money. After they had
driven for about two miles with me in the boot, they parked and brought
me out and started beating me again. When one of them saw the hand band
my friend’s daughter made for me and another one I bought in Ghana in
2012, they said I was a cultist.
“I refutted the claim and the beating
continued. They brought handcuffs and threatened to take me to the
Department of Criminal Investigation. One of them brought a fan belt and
repeatedly hit me in the head.”
The Delta State indigene explained that
the policemen fled the area after the belt hit him in the eye and he
became unconscious. He added that it was the driver of the car he
boarded that trailed him to the scene and took him to the hospital.
the policemen fled the area after the belt hit him in the eye and he
became unconscious. He added that it was the driver of the car he
boarded that trailed him to the scene and took him to the hospital.
“It was the fan belt that hit my left
eye and caused serious damage. I am still on admission at UBTH with
blurred vision and in serious pain. I cannot see much with the eye and I
am not sure when I am leaving the hospital because of the injury. The
doctor said I would know my fate on Thursday (tomorrow),” he said