NIGERIAN YOUTHS CRY OUT OVER POLICE HARASSMENT

Read Time:2 Minute, 58 Second

Joseph Omoniyi

Some nigerian youths have lamented over incessant harassment by some men of the police force.

Some of the relatives of the victims who shared the story on Whatsapp, said the policemen who appeared to be doing “stop and search” on highways accused the victims of being cyber fraudsters (Yahoo boys), seized their phones to avoid being recorded and then, either took all the cash on them or forced them to a nearby ATM machine to withdraw their money.

According to the anonymous family members, when the victims refused or attempt to protest, they were either threatened to be killed or kept in jail.

Read their reports below:

Anonymous

“Exactly same happened to my nephew last week on his way to UniOsun. Same accusation of bin a Yahoo Boy. Took him n his friends to ATM and withdrew all their money saying that if they insist, they will either kill them on the spot or jail them.
This was so strange, very hard to believe. They seized their phones to prevent recording but later gave them back. I told him to send screenshots of all d withdrawals after they gave them back their phones – shocked to see how they withdrew all his money(20k plus) in bit and left him with nothing. I will share copies of the screenshot.”

Anonymous

“Nigeria Police na another big problem o for this country!

In fact, the last of my siblings just called me on Thursday that based on my instruction that he should return to school, he was on his way to offa to join his schoolmates there for their joint trip to UDUS, Sokoto. He said their bus was stop by the police for a stop and search between Erinle and Offa and all the students therein were accused of being yahoo boys. There phones and loads including those in the booth were searched and all the money found with them were collected. He said 7k was taken from deep inside his bag and he was nearly beaten up for insisting that they can’t take his money but they only returned 2k to him. He said another guy had 25k but they only returned around 5k to him and like four to five others were treated the same way without finding anything against them!

Likewise it took my intervention some few weeks ago on my way to Ilorin for a reckless police officer not to have probably shot one of my co-pssengers, a Unilorin student, just because the guy was asking what else he wanted from him after searching all his loads including his yam powder(elubo). In fact he asked the guy to dip his hand inside the elubo to bring out whatever was inside! It was when he wanted to use the used condom pack found in the boy’s bag as an exhibit I told him point blank that “Mr man you’re only delaying us because this is not your concern” He went so low to the point of asking the lady who claimed to be the boy’ sister that “hey useless girl shey na you she used this whole pack of condom for”! When I asked him to stop the nonsence and be more professional he syarted calling me all sort of names such as “fake afa”! Then his colleagues came to me to calm me down and ask us to leave him and go.

This and similar cases of police harassing students has become so common and scary that no one seems to have the audacity to do something.”