Your friend might be a police officer, but the police is never your friend.

Every day since December 2023, when Adeola Lukman (not real name) opened his business on CMD Road, Ketu, Lagos, he has never walked home without fear in his heart.

His fears are not about being a victim of robbery, kidnappings by non-state actors, or even fears of being a victim of rituals. He fears that officers of the Nigerian Police Force (NPF) attached to Ketu Divison, Lagos, would abduct him and force him to spend the night in a cold cell for no just cause.

On Monday, Lukman told FIJ that police officers attached to the Ketu Divison have been arresting citizens and workers on CMD Road who return home late from work or fun under the guise of security raids.

Lukman explained that since his business opened, he has been arrested at least three times by the same officers who are quick to label him and anyone caught a cultist or internet fraudster.

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He further said that citizens’ identity cards count as nothing to the police officers, for resisting arrest, as they would beat up civilians, throw them in their buses and then force them to cough up thousands of naira for bail.

He revealed that the officers would often pick up these workers and residents at 11 pm or just some minutes before it, simply for walking late at night.

“It has been a year since we opened this place, and since then till now, I would not say we are free from the hands of the police because they are doing a series of raids in this place every day, and the raiding starts from 11 pm,” Lukman told FIJ.

“Sometimes they pick people up by 11 pm or some minutes before it. People who are coming back from work; these ones show them their identity cards, yet they still pick them up.

“They do not care, and if you try to prove stubborn, they will beat you up. It is now so common now that people are used to it. No one is saying anything, and no one is complaining.”

Lukman explained further that the arrests have now gone beyond the usual security surveillance for the officers but they have now grown into a full-blown business venture as they name figures up to N50,000 and N100,000 as bail.

“Once they pick you up, they will demand N50,000, N100,000 and more. The other time, they picked up two of my staff. They were demanding N100,000, and threatening to send them to prison if they did not pay.”

He explained to FIJ that in some other bizarre instances, these officers from the same division would arrest residents and workers who had only just bailed themselves out of the hands of another police officer. The new officer would throw them onto the bus, return them to the station and demand his own fresh bail sum.

“There are times when you go and bail someone out and another set of police officers would pick you up on the same road. I have heard several incidents.

“I have a friend who went to bail his friend from the cell that night. The guy was coming back from work. He paid N30,000, he went to bail him. On their way back, because it was late and they couldn’t get a vehicle, they had to trek. Another set of police picked them up, and this set was from the same station. They do not care. If no one comes for you, they can leave you there for five days or more.

“I know someone kept in the cell for four to five days, and no one came for him. They started to label him as a cultist and as a yahoo boy. When you say you want to prove stubborn, they will beat you up and throw you inside the cell.

“Depending on when their anger disappears, they will now bring you out and say, come and start calling people. What if you do not have anyone to call? That is how you will suffer for what you know nothing about.”

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More disturbingly, Lukman expressed deep concerns, saying that on more than one occasion, he had spotted officers from the police station monitoring and parading their lounge so they could pick up his staff on the way home.

He said the gesture has also been extended to his customers by the police who are often quick to throw them into a bus for simply stepping out to make calls at night.

“Sometimes, the police officers will start monitoring us to know we are closing. I have caught officers several times parading our area, trying to monitor when we are people are closing so they can pick them up on the road, which is unfair.

“Are you trying to monitor them so you will pick them up and gain money from it? It is very bad. I know how many customers I have lost because they went outside at midnight and the police picked them up. One went to receive a call, and police picked him up, but I didn’t know on time. They just dragged him inside the car and zoomed off.

“Sometimes, we close by 11 pm or 12 am, and our staff quarter is nearby, just a walk down but the police will still pick you up.

“When you try to explain and say this is where I am coming from, they won’t listen. These are people who go home in groups with their official uniforms. But the police won’t still believe them.

” If the police are saying they are here for your safety but they are raiding you despite you showing them your ID and telling them where you are coming from, then something is wrong.”

A receipt from the ball fee requested by the officers. Here they made their victim include the PoS charges.

Another receipt of the bail fee sent to a PoS vendor.

He said he understands that the raids are to reduce crime but they are no longer justifiable when citizens can properly identify themselves.

Since he started to run his business, Lukman said he had been arrested at least three times by officers of the Ketu Division. While he can’t exactly remember the dates of the first two arrests, the third one happened on November 16.

“For each time I was arrested, I paid N30,000, N20,000 and N15,000 as bail fees respectively.”

He says that he is now scared to walk at night as he doesn’t know if he will make it home in one piece. “On my own, I am very scared to walk at night, and that is why I often use Uber home,” he said.

“Walking at night is not safe for me. We are supposed to be assured of peace, but the peace has been taken away by the police. If the police are saying they are here for your safety but they are raiding you despite you showing them your ID and telling them where you are coming from, no one is safe.

“I do not really understand the law enforcement agency in Nigeria anymore; it has become something we are now afraid of. We can no longer come back late. What about times you are held up in traffic and have to get to Ketu late? Now, getting to Ketu, we are facing the problem of the police. It is now a major source of worry that one needs to be careful because it is becoming too much.”

He said after the officers have negotiated a deal for bail, they would take their victims to a PoS vendor close to the station and ask them to transfer the sum there. “They refuse to collect it in their accounts.”

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When FIJ asked if the vendor works with the police, Lukman said he only knows that the police would knock on her shop and she would come out to provide the cash.

“I can’t say but the lady lives inside the shop so they would knock and call her out.

Lukman also named Benjamin and Dare, two officers attached to the station, for constantly being at the forefront of the indiscriminate arrests.

When FIJ called CSP Redengha Tamarauebi Timpah, the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Ketu Division, Area H on Monday, he said the police are out to protect residents of the area from crimes that come with the festive seasons. He also asked that our reporter visit his office for further conversations.

“You know we are police officers, and I would appreciate it if you could see me in person or relate this matter to the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Command, who is authorised to speak on the activities of police officers,” he told FIJ.

“As the DPO, I would also appreciate it if you could visit me in my office for further discussion.

“You understand that Christmas is coming, and you know how things are in the Ketu area, where people snatch bags and phones. If you have the time, please stop by the office so we can have a conversation about this.”

FIJ on Sunday reported how officers of the Nigerian Police have stolen millions of naira from Nigerians in arrests for no just cause.
The post How Lagos Policemen Arrest Innocent People on CMD Road And Demand N50,000 to N100,000 As Bail appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.