10th February, 2012
A police corporal, Nelson Bassey, who went for an illegal duty and shot two friends claiming that they were suspected armed robbers because they did not give him bribe has been dismissed.
He is now facing trial at a magistrate’s court in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.
He allegedly shot Andrew Okoh and Issac Adesina and labelled them suspected robbers, but the victims were rescued after the residents identified and insisted that they were not robbers as he claimed.
The incident happened at Egbeda- Idimu road, Lagos, close to the victims’ house.
The 31- year old Bassey, who last served at Gowon estate, is now in prison custody after he was arraigned before Ejigbo Magistrate’s court.
He was dismissed after the police investigated the incident and discovered that he shot them even when the victims had not committed any offence.
According to Okoh, they were returning from Ikeja to their house in Idimu late evening on the fateful day because of heavy traffic jam.
He said on getting to Gowon Estate, there was a team of Rapid Response Squad, RSS, policemen that stopped them and they demanded for ‘settlement’.
He said he politely explained to them that they had money on them before they left them. He said on getting close to Egbeda area, they saw Bassey on a motorcycle stopping their car.
He said they parked and came out of their car.
“The next thing we saw was Bassey pointing his AK 47 rifle at us and opened fire on our legs, claiming that we were suspected robbers, that we were trying to escape.
“It was the residents who knew us that came out and identified us before we were taken to the station.
“When the DPO heard what happened, he ordered that Bassey should be detained in the cell,” he narrated.
When the authorities later discovered that the men were innocent, they summarily dismissed him without any benefit and made him to face trial for the crime he allegedly committed.
He was charged before an Ejigbo Magistrate’s court in Lagos with assault and inflicting injuries on the victims under sections 355 and 388 of the Criminal Code Cap 17 Vol. 2 Laws of Lagos State of Nigeria 2003.
He pleaded not guilty. The presiding magistrate, Mrs. M. B. Folami granted him bail in the sum of N22,000 with two sureties in like sum.
The matter was adjourned till 1 March 2012.
He was remanded in the custody of Kirikiri prison, Apapa, Lagos until he meets the bail condition.
—Cyriacus Izuekwe