Police officers affiliated with the Ajwe police station in Aja, Lagos state regularly abuse alcohol, which may be responsible for the rising rate of extrajudicial killings by officers from train stations.
research by punch metro Residents and business owners were found to have the same tendency.
They say police officers are always under the influence of alcohol while on duty or on patrol.
They said this may have been responsible for the recent murder of a pregnant lawyer, Bolanre Raheem, by Dorambi Vandi, a police deputy superintendent who was attached to the station.
Two weeks ago, Inspector Yme Johnson, who belongs to the same division, also shot and killed another resident, Gaffar Braimo, while he was on his way to buy fuel.
When our correspondent visited the police station around 10 a.m. Tuesday, some of the officers were seen gathering in pairs outside the compound.
Closer observation revealed that some of them were consuming alcohol in sachets while being heavily armed.
One of the two officers sitting near the barbing saloon attached to the building by the station had a glass of beer from which he sipped from time to time.
Among other officers hidden under a shed adjacent to the station, an officer was seen drinking a canned alcoholic beverage with a pistol strapped to his waist.
Some vendors found around police stations made some of the alcoholic beverages available within arm’s reach of police officers, while other police officers offered to patronize other traders. I avoided prying eyes by walking my distance.
After observing this for nearly an hour, a beautiful policeman, previously seen roaming the corridors of the station, beckoned to our correspondent.
Close contact with him indicated that he was intoxicated, as his body smelled of alcohol.
The reporter thought he was about to be questioned about being around the police station, but sounding incoherent, the officer demanded the amount of N200.
Out of curiosity, the reporter gave him N1,000 in anticipation of his balance.
The officer immediately took him to a vendor, purchased a sachet of alcoholic beverages, drank it up on the spot, and the vendor provided the balance.
punch metro Police also learned that Raheem regularly visited an alcohol dealer behind the motor park under the Aja Bridge where he was shot.
Visiting the place and mingling with some of the street urchins, our correspondent observed hailing some of the policemen who had come to patronize a female customer he found on the corner under the bridge. Did.
Resident Soryu Adekambi said police officers were known to openly abuse alcohol.
He said, “Cops do things as they please and nobody checks. It seems no one can stand up to them. Most of them always have alcohol packs with them when they’re on duty. drink them in their uniforms here under the bridge, which everyone knows, but no one can say anything because the police authorities are not doing anything.”
Our correspondent also collected that most police officers had spent a long time in the area and had refused to move.
The president of the Community Development Association, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the issue, said this contributed to their excesses in the community.
he said: Most of them get promoted to retire here. That’s why they got out of hand. Some spent 15 to 20 years at the station. Every time a transfer comes they operate it. They know who will fix it. Even at the Langbasa Police Station, there are 1 Spor Sunday and 1 Lieutenant Yomi, up to 10 who have lived up to that age. They don’t want to leave the station for financial gain.When the first incident happened, they changed his DPO. But what happened on Sunday shows that it’s about cops, not DPO changes. ”
Okechuk Nwanguma, executive director of the Center for the Rule of Law and Accountability Advocacy, said drinking while on duty violates the Police Act 2020.
He said, “The Police Act 2020 is very clear about the use of alcohol by police officers. Drug use and abuse among the security services, including the Nigerian police, is very high: uniformed police officers enter beer parlors with weapons, Sit down to drink, which is prohibited by law but has become a tradition.
“There is no other way to explain what happened to the woman (Raheem)’s orders, other than that the police acted under the influence of alcohol, because the police were not armed, and the woman was unarmed. How do you explain that you just subtracted the ?
“One of the problems that arose after that was #EndSARS Police officers, especially those with weapons, had to be psychologically evaluated to ensure they were mentally stable. However, this did not happen. Even the recruitment process has been compromised. Unqualified people go through the recruitment requirements and turn themselves in to the police. We need real commitment to implement reforms that address these issues, as well as competent leadership at both the police and political levels. ”
According to state police spokesperson Benjamin Handein, drinking alcohol on duty is a crime.
He said, “If a police officer becomes intoxicated on duty, it is a violation of discipline and there are established procedures for dealing with such persons. It’s an obligation.”