It's another Tuesday y'all! And you know what time it is.🙂↕️
I was looking through my options regarding what to share today- a poem, short story, opinion article, to mention but a few. Buttt, eventually I decided to share a feature story I wrote back in 2024 for a writing contest (and of course the story moved me on to the final stage of the contest🤭 clock itt!). The reason why I chose this story for today's episode however, was due to a recent encounter by my roommate. She narrated how passengers were harassed by police officers because of how they dressed, claiming they were “yahoo” boys, among others o. All for what? You guessed right, extortion (Classic Nigerian police yeah?🙄). Thereafter I thought to myself, “you've always written quite a lot on police brutality and harassment/extortion, why not share some of your pieces?” So that's what I'm doing. Ladies and gentlemen, give it up for🗣: No Props to Cops!
No Props To Cops: Nigeria’s Degenerate Road Police
Azeezat T. Azeez
Years of articulated voices in opposition, supposed actionable measures and implementation of proper sanctions, yet, here we are, still at the same point, still on square one, regarding the almost tyrannical presence of the police on Nigerian roads. It’s the same story of oppression, irresponsibility and harassment, one which no populace should ever get accustomed to. When the individuals appointed to protect citizens and tackle insecurity in all forms become an embodiment of insecurity themselves, then what is left to see? That’s a core query many Nigerians pose at this juncture, particularly following the murder of a student of the Kwara State Polytechnic, Ilorin, by some (now identified) officers of the Kwara State Police Command, in a “chase-n-shoot” sort of manner. This case further fuelled the frustration of Nigerians causing many to come out regarding their own experiences and not-so-friendly encounters with the “friends who have now turned worse than foes”; the Nigerian Police.
“They are meant to catch thieves but they ARE the thieves! Their sole purpose for being on road watch is to exploit poor Nigerians, particularly the struggling bike-men who barely make enough to feed anyway”, a businesswoman and resident of Oyo Town (name withheld), gave her opinion regarding the decaying police system. She described the officers as “greedy, violent and almost utterly ignorant” of their primary duties: to protect, punish (along the lines of the law) and instil order. “It’s a daily hustle, not just for them,” she continued, “but even for their superiors, as they would report to the office, and share ‘the gains’ at the end of the day. Its disappointing.” This situation is largely normalized all over the country, such that it makes one realize why the ENDSARS movement was such a widespread consensus. From my fair share of intended observations and gathered reports, the unfair treatment of civilians by these policemen positioned on the streets of Nigeria doesn’t just stop at literal money swindling, but a number of other misconducts. I’m talking; snatching keys off of commercial vehicles till the demanded “fee” is paid, wrongfully confiscating vehicles thereby harassing both driver and passenger(s) (with no regard for the rules whatsoever), and not to mention, beating up a civilian completely unprovoked (a female cop to be precise), amongst several other atrocities. Why? According to Nigerians, ‘because there’s no strict measures put out against such actions.’
TO BE CONTINUED…
