Metro Plus: Bribe-taking policemen shoot at couple, kill wife in Lagos

A woman, Idongesit Ekpo, and her husband, Godwin, were shot by a team of policemen attached to the Isheri Osun Police Division.Following the shooting ,motorcycle drivers on Thursday shut down the Ijegun Road in the Alimosho area of Lagos State.

While Idongesit died on the spot, Godwin was said to be in a critical condition at the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital, Ikeja, where he was taken for treatment.

Punch Metro learnt that the couple was returning from a church programme on Wednesday in a tricycle belonging to the family.

ADVERTISEMENT

Our correspondents were told that Godwin met a police checkpoint at Obalagbe bus stop, where some other tricycle drivers were being reportedly extorted by an eight-man police team.

He was said to have been flagged down by one of the policemen, but as he sped past, one of the officers shattered his windscreen with a baton.

A police corporal, identified as Aremu Musesiu, was said to have opened fire on the tricycle.

It was learnt that the bullet pierced through the tricycle back side and hit Idongesit, who was breastfeeding a three-month-old baby.

Her husband, Godwin, who looked back when the shot was fired, was said to have also been hit in the neck.

The policemen were said to have hurriedly taken money from the tricycle drivers they had earlier detained, before fleeing the scene.

Tricycle drivers in the community trooped out on Thursday to protest the death and demanded justice for the victims.

The protesters held placards, some of which read, ‘Isheri Police, your generation will suffer,’ ‘Stop killing us,’ among others.

A tricycle driver, Henry Chibuzor, said the couple was shot at around 10pm on Wednesday.

He said, “I was going home around 10pm when I saw the eight-man team asking me to stop at a checkpoint. I was there with four other tricycle drivers.

“The man was coming from church with his family. As he got to the junction, he swerved and his tricycle mistakenly brushed their patrol van.

“A policeman hit the tricycle’s windscreen with a baton and damaged it. The second policeman fired a bullet which hit the woman in the neck, came out from the other side, and hit her husband too.”

He said the policemen collected N5,000 from him and also extorted money from other tricycle drivers.

Another witness, Kabiru Olaoye, said the residents quickly formed a crowd at the scene and prevented the policemen from leaving.

He added that the cops called for reinforcement, adding that officers of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad and policemen from surrounding divisions arrived at the scene and rescued the killer-cops.

Olaoye said, 

“The policemen, who perpetrated the havoc, were eight in number and they included Demola and Aremu. Aremu was the one who fired the shot.”

PUNCH Metro learnt that while the woman died immediately, the man was quickly rushed to the Igando General Hospital.

“The man was rejected at the Igando hospital and was taken to the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital at Ikeja.”

A tricycle driver, Oladimeji Ayinde, said the police deposited the remains of the victim in a mortuary.

It was learnt that the family tricycle had been taken to the Area M Police Command, while the children of the victims were with the police.

The Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, who confirmed the incident, said Aremu had been arrested and detained.

He added that the DPO of Isheri Osun had also been issued a query for disobeying the Inspector General of Police’s instruction.

He said, 

“The police are doing all in our capacity to ensure that the deceased’s children are taken care of. The police corporal involved has been taken into custody. When we complete all necessary disciplinary action, he will be charged to court for murder.

“The team leader and the DPO of Isheri Osun division have also been issued queries for disobeying the IG with regards to policemen performing duties out of uniform, and without a properly-labelled police van