A middle aged woman, Fatimah Kofoworola Bakare narrowly escaped death on Sunday when an unidentified mobile policeman attached to the Chinese construction workers handling the Sango-Ijoko/Agbado road shot at her Toyota Camry car along the Ijoko-Agbado road in Ifo Local Government Area of Ogun State.
An eyewitness account told our correspondent that Bakare, a senior official of the National Agency for Foods Drugs Administration and Control, NAFDAC, Lagos Office, had parked closed to an NNPC filling station around the Ijoko-Lemode area waiting to pick a visitor coming from the Iju axis when the trigger happy cop accosted her and insisted she moved out of the area.
Sources further said that an attempt by Bakare to explain her mission to the trigger happy cop, believed to be under heavy alcoholic influence led to her been beaten up mercilessly, the situation which drew the attention of neighbours who rallied round to rescue the harmless woman.
“We were standing few kilometres away from the scene and saw the Mopol walked up to the woman inside her car. The next thing we saw was the policeman dragging her out, punching and slapping her. At this point, we had to move in but the policeman, who obviously was under the influence of alcohol, would not budge.
“I think in the process, he lost his key but we all helped him search for the key and gave it to him. He left the scene and went inside the gatehouse. At this time, we had pleaded with the woman to go but not long after, the Mopol rushed out of the house with his gun and fired several gun shots to disperse the surging crowd.
“When he noticed that the woman was already driving away, he raced after her in his motor bike, shot sporadically and in the process, shot at the car and deflated the two back tyres,” said Afolabi Ajibike, a resident of the area in an interview with our correspondent.
Our correspondent gathered that the case was reported to a police patrol team from the Agbado Police Station who rushed to the scene but as at the time of filling this report, it was not immediately clear what step has been taken.
Later in a telephone interview, Bakare insisted that that she was going to press charges against the police officer, insisting that she find it difficult to believe there was no sinister motive behind his action.
“The whole situation looks very scary. It looks like an armed robbery situation because I cannot understand why a police officer paid to protect lives would behave in such a barbaric manner.
“Where I parked had absolutely nothing to do with him. Am aware he is one of those contracted to provide security for the Chinese handling the road but I have to be convinced that he wasn’t there to do something sinister.
“The way he was dragging the steering with me looks like he wants to snatch the car from me. And again, can you imagine a police officer shooting so sporadically and even fired several shots at me.
“When I noticed he was pursuing me with a bike and gun, I had to run into an inner street, parked and ran into a residential building at gas line, Itoki. And still, he shot at me. I think he actually meant to kill me because the shot he fired hit my two tyres,” said Bakare.
Findings by NewMailNG revealed that most of the policemen attached to the Chinese Contractors around the area are fond of molesting and intimidating people within the neighbourhood.
A resident, who would not want his name mentioned for security reason, told our correspondent that “they have turned the area into haven for illegal and criminally minded activities. They smoke Indian hemp indiscriminately; harass motorists, pedestrians and subject people to fears particularly at night.”
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