An upcoming artiste, Olasore Oluwafemi, has been shot by a policeman in the Ikorodu area of Lagos State.
The incident, which happened on Sunday at Agric bus stop, was said to have caused commotion as residents ran helter-skelter, while the policeman along with two of his colleagues fled the scene.
However, the cop was identified as Zakari, attached to the Owutu Police Division, Ikorodu.
Punch Metro learnt that the victim had an arrangement with his friend, Opeyemi Efunwole, to meet at a filing station in the Agric area.
The two men had planned to move from the filing station to a popular musical event, Headies Award, in Efunwole’s private car.
Punch Metro learnt that Oluwafemi was in a commercial cab heading towards the place when a police team in a commercial bus stopped the driver.
Oluwafemi, who sat beside the driver, said, “I was told the police usually collect N2, 000 from every cab driver at the junction. So when he stopped our cab, the driver tried to reverse and he shot at the car. The bullet pierced through the cab and hit my leg. I felt terrible pains.”
The cab driver was said to have driven him to the filing station where Efunwole was waiting for him.
Efunwole, who was also the manager of the victim, said he took him to a private hospital where he was given first aid.
“But we had to go to the police station for a police report to get further treatment at a general hospital.
“However, on getting to the station, the Divisional Police Officer denied that any of his men went out or shot at anybody. But later, on compassionate ground, he gave us a medical form for my friend to get further treatment.
“While the treatment was on at the hospital, I went back to the station with Oluwafemi’s relatives and the cab driver to give our statements about what happened. They said they were not sure it was a policeman attached to the station that fired the shot.”
Efunwole told Punch Metro that the DPO, Abayomi Oni, ordered the three policemen on duty at the time of the incident to file out with their rifles.
He said immediately they came out, the cab driver identified Zakari and said he was the one who fired the shot.
“But the DPO still called a sergeant to count their bullets. The sergeant counted 20 bullets in the rifles of the first two policemen, and when it came to Zakari’s turn, the bullets were 19. But the DPO defended him and said it was 19 bullets they gave him.
“How can that be? How can they give him 19 bullets when they gave others 20?
“When the cab driver still insisted that Zakari fired the shot, the police threatened to lock him up in the cell and ordered him to shut up,” he added.
The victim told our correspondent he had been asked to go for an X-ray, adding that the result showed where the bullet was lodged in his leg.
Punch Metro learnt on Monday that the bullet had yet to be removed.
When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, Kenneth Nwosu, said, “Initially, when they got to the station, the victim said the policeman, who shot at him, was putting on mufti. Meanwhile, policemen on the road don’t wear mufti.
“He was asked to identify the man who shot at him. A patrol vehicle drove in and he said it was one of the policemen there that shot at him. They were all in uniforms.
“The police pointed out he was contradicting himself. Despite that, he was issued with a form to go for treatment for safety sake, while the matter was being investigated to ascertain who allegedly shot at him.
“The case is still undergoing investigation and we will get to the roots of the matter.”
