A policeman attached to the Ojongbodu Police Station in Oyo State has been accused of assaulting a pap trader, Babajide Oluwaseun.
The incident, which was reported by Oluwaseun. was said to have happened in the Owode area of the state.
Narrating his ordeal in a Facebook post, Oluwaseun posted a picture of his injuries and accused the policeman of inflicting them on him because he blamed the officer, identified as Sharafa, for not concentrating on controlling traffic at the Owode Roundabout which allegedly led to a collision between the bike he (Oluwaseun) was on and another vehicle.
The victim said he sustained injuries and his phone was broken after Sharafa hit him repeatedly with a baton.
He said, “On January 23, 2023, I was going to Cele, Oyo town. When I got to Owode around that roundabout, a policeman stopped us for the traffic, and we stopped. He later passed us.
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“Along the line, he passed another vehicle that was coming towards Oja Akesan; that was when the vehicle hit us and we fell. I went to meet the policeman that why would he pass another vehicle after he had given us the permission to pass.
“That was when he started saying we were at fault and abused us. Before we knew what was going on, the officer started hitting me in my hand and I got injured. People around took me to a nearby chemist, where I was treated and stitched up.”
Oluwaseun said officers at the Ojongbodu Police Station asked him to delete the photo of the cop, which he posted online.
He said, “People begged me to let go of what happened and I agreed. We managed to snap his picture. When I got home, I posted the picture on social media and the post went viral. Later, I was called from the Ojongbodu Police Station.
“They went to my mum’s place that I should remove the post from Facebook. I said if they wanted me to remove the post, they should allow me to see the officer and ask him some questions on what I did to deserve what he did to me. This morning (Wednesday), the officer came to my shop to beg for forgiveness.
Another video posted on Facebook by Oluwaseun showed the policeman apologising for the incident, while also blaming the devil.
He said,” I am not like that; this is my fourth year as a community police officer and I have never been found culpable of something like this. God should not let us be used by the devil and I promise never to repeat such again.”
The state police spokesperson, Adewale Osifeso, urged the trader to report the case to the command headquarters for necessary action.