An interview with Idemudia Osarobo - A Police Officer in Lagos, 42 years old.
A paceful protest or a civil rebellion?
October 2020
vol. 8
IT WAS NEVER MORE DANGEROUS TO BE A POLICEMAN HERE
CECYLIA BUCZKO:
Is all the Police Force corrupt as the people say?
IDEMUDIA OSAROBO:
I am a policeman serving in Lagos State Command, I have been working here several years now. This is totally not true, not all the police are bad or accept bribes. Not all the police are brutal. But the truth is that some of us make mistakes. And now we are judged by people by the example of the ones who behave indecently.
How should a Policeman behave?
My uniform is my honour. Everyone of us needs to fulfil the vow we took while starting our duty that we will serve the nation and the country. It is unacceptable to take any bribes or spread violence. If anyone does so he is an animal in a uniform, doesn’t deserve to wear it.
Who provides the Nigerian police with training?
Well, there are the police colleges and the police academy and the trainings are directed from the command headquarters. There are also in-service training schools for special teams like the Mobile Police and not only Nigerians but also Israel prepare our recruits for their future work. I want to assure you that all police officers have to be trained very well. But the reality is that policemen are not well paid, the institution also lack enough officers on duty and they don't have all the necessary equipment and other facilities. These lacks are some of the reasons they go wrong sometimes.
What is youir comment on the twit posted by Kate Osamor on 29th October, 2020 about the UK engagement in training your SARS team?
Nigeria was under British control before gaining independence in 1960, but even now they have some influence in our country. So I think it is possible there are some special programmes which our special teams of the police can attend and maybe it is for our benefit. I have never served in SARS or any other special team of the police so I don't know much about the way they are trained, it was never done to the full glare of the public.
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| (BBC) |
How were you involved in #EndSARS protests?
We just had to keep it in control to avoid any violence. At the beginning the campaigns were peaceful, people just sang and gave testimonies, walked through the streets with the placards. But a few days later the protest became violent, it was hijacked by mobs and resulted in mayhem.
How did the protest turn into violence?
This all started on Sunday 18th October. All we the policemen were given an order to try to keep the protests safe and avoid any violence. But it got impossible to control when the protest was hijacked by mobs. They were hiding among the protesters and after they started to riot some protesters followed them, as they were emotionally exhausted. The violence and killing started, attacking the police stations, destroying cars. And many of the police were killed or badly wounded.
The police stations and prisoners are reported to be attacked by the protesters. Is that true?
Yes, it became very dangerous to go to work now. I can’t run as I was shot in the leg in the past during my duty and I also didn’t want to be forced to fire anyone now. I have respect for each human life, I won't take a part in any political plays. That’s why I refused to go to work when the protest spread all around Lagos. I didn’t want to be killed by the mobs who attacked from everywhere out of the crowd of protesters. I wanted to live for my children and my wife. Work in the police is very hard and not safe. If I am killed the government won’t pay even a single naira to my family as a refund and they would die of hunger. All I want is just move out somewhere and find a safe job. This country is impossible to live in.
Did the police fire the protesters?
The police didn’t get any official order to fire people. I have been staying at home till now but I heard a lot from my colleagues. They said some of the police started to fire shots in the air to disperse protesters, but they didn’t get any order to fire protesters. But the truth is some of them made a mistake. In time the level of violence drastically went up. The hoodlums started to fire the uniform men so here and there some fighting and shooting happened. To be honest nobody knows who was shooting whom. Our authorities said it might be some miscreants who killed people here and there.
Who was responsible for firing the protesters then?
The only one who was shooting the protesters were the army but their leadership officially denied doing so in the Lekki area and in other places. No wonder, people got angrier more and more. And now the mobs and some desperate protesters who got emotionally involved too much are killing the policemen that can be seen outside.
How to avoid violence?
We ourselves can do nothing, we need God intervention, only God is our saviour. Our government doesn’t take care of us and we won’t get any help from them.
There were reports that police transported hoodlums by the police cars. Is it true?
The violence was spread by the mobs among whom some guys got the police uniforms. There were some photos on the Internet showing mobs in police cars but the comments below were nothing but an interpretation of what could have happened… It was just easy to say the police had helped them.
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| (Channel TV, Head Topics Nigeria) |
Do you want to say the protest was hijacked by bandits?
Don’t you see? The protest itself was used not only by hoodlums. Not only was it hijacked but also was used by the Internet users spreading misinformation online. I don’t deny protesters telling the truth, but I am afraid the histories told by people attending the protest were changed a little because people started adding misleading information to posted photos, maybe in a good intention to make a point of what happened, so all the protest reports became less factual. But it was still widespread and became globally famous, because information repeated by people after other people became catchy like gossip and caught all the world’s attention. Unfortunately nobody checked the information carefully, people just shared them.
Did you expect the president to comply with the protesters’ request?
22nd October the President addressed the nation and promised to fulfil most of the protesters demands, like to change the country standard of living, and raise our salaries. But I don’t believe them at all. It is a failed government and the president who doesn’t take care of his people.
So don’t you expect the president to resign? It was also one of the protesters’ demands.
You know, African presidents are not humans. They will never resign, never let the younger ones rule. They are ready to die in their seats. It is only the Western world that you can see a president resign.
What was exactly the protest’s proceedings?
I will summarise it for you. The campaigns were run in the biggest cities in the country. The worst happened in Lagos, but also Abuja, Edo, Delta and Ondo States were involved.
What happened in Lagos?
On Monday 19th October hoodlums destroyed police trucks in the Yaba area of Lagos and attacked the uniform men. The mobs also made the roadblocks and assaulted motorists demanding them to pay a fee.
20th October thugs set fire to a police station in Orile district in Lagos state as a part of the widespread protests against police brutality. Probably, there were officers inside the building. The violence escalated to a high level which resulted in schools shutting down in Lagos State and the government announcing the curfew in Lagos.
On the same day later in the night the massacre at the Lekki toll gate happened and soon some shopping malls were set on fire.
Two days later the Lagos high court was set ablaze in the result of vandals’ looting who took away some goods which the court confiscated earlier. The building was set on fire like a torch in the night. Also people could hear gunshots in the city and tyres were seen burning somewhere.
Also 22nd October there was an attempt to break another prison in Lagos, but the army and the police foiled this. So far 69 people have been killed which includes 7 soldiers and 11 police officers. However the army and the police force denied they fired protesters. Now we experience the 48 curfew in Lagos.
What about Edo State and in Delta and Ondo States?
19th October. Two police stations were attacked by hoodlums in Edo state who burnt cars, stole guns and broke into prisons letting the prisoners go out. As a result the government declared a curfew there. One important thing we should note is that; none of the video footage showed peaceful protesters going inside the prison or even attempting to break the gate. We could only see inmates jumping from the fence of the prisons and some passing through the gate. This made us curious as to who actually let the inmates out of the prison? Delta State and Ondo State Prisons were attacked and the inmates escaped too.
How the police managed to control the protest in Abuja?
I don’t know much as I don’t live there. But there are some gossips that the police let the armed thugs attack unarmed protesters which resulted in destroying a few cars and the death of three people. But I think if it is unproven it is just gossip.
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| The
high court building on Lagos Island after seting fired (BBC) |
Will the people face any consequences because of the #EndSARS protest?
Yes they will I am afraid. Now because of the destructions of the Police facilities and the killings of many innocent policemen, the Nigerian police and army announced that it will be impossible to guarantee people's security during Christmas and New Year period in areas worst affected by EndSARS protests in Southern part of the country. Everyone will have to protect themselves and their families from hoodlums. One of the participants who attended the meeting of law-enforcement officers said; “In these ember months and up to Christmas period and the New Year, I doubt if any of the security services can guarantee maximum security as usual. There is no way we can discharge our statutory responsibilities and functions when we have become soft targets of miscreants and violent persons.” Full information you can find here.
Part 2 - IT WAS A MODERN PROTEST WHICH STARTED IN SOCIAL MEDIA
Part 5 - HOW THE PEACEFUL PROTEST WAS HIJACKED BY HOODLUMS?
Part 6 - THE POWER OF PEOPLE IS STRONGER THAN THE PEOPLE IN POWER
Part 7 - OUR GOVERNMENT KILLS US – THE MASSACRE AT THE LEKKI TOLL GATE IN LAGOS
Part 8 - IT WAS NEVER MORE DANGEROUS TO BE A POLICEMAN HERE
Written by: Cecylia Buczko
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| Cecylia Buczko |
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