Living ten minutes away from a police station and in the midst of police officers ought to come with a sense of safety, sanity and security. For the residents of Abraham Adesanya Estate, Ajah, this is far from reality.

The estate is a ten-minute drive from the Ogombo Police Station, and some police officers also reside there. These policemen reside in a part of the estate popularly called Eight-in-One, which is home to blocks of flats housing eight flats.

The residents of this estate have expressed to FIJ their displeasure about how some power-drunk police officers from the Ogombo Police Station, on several occasions, flouted estate rules and used their power to harass residents.

On April 25, @AyBenson, an X user, narrated how Ogombo policemen forcefully gained access to the estate and beat up a security guard when he tried to carry out security checks while on duty.

Men of the Nigeria Police Force are putting our lives in danger in Abraham Adesanya Estate and we’re tired! At about 10:48pm 24th April, Police men in Uniform in 2 branded trucks from Ogombo Division forcefully gained access to our estate through the designated gate for Estate pic.twitter.com/iVskwIR6Ll

— Aybenson (@AyBenson) April 25, 2024

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“Men of the Nigerian Police Force are putting our lives in danger in Abraham Adesanya Estate and we are tired. At about 10:48 pm on April 24, policemen in two branded trucks from Ogombo Division forcefully gained access to our estate through the designated gate for residents,” he wrote.

“As soon as the security man on duty tried to carry out the due diligence in checks, they jumped out, numbering about 10, and descended on him with their guns to the extent of breaking his teeth and injuring him. They also swore to take him away to an unknown location to teach him respect for the police. “

On Thursday, FIJ visited the estate and spoke with Elisha (not real name), the security guard who was victimised by the police.

When this reporter met Elisha, he was on duty. The wounds he sustained that night had not healed completely, and he had scars on his neck and upper lip.

When this reporter introduced herself and asked him to narrate what happened that night, he was hesitant and initially refused to speak. According to him, he was scared the policemen would return to torture him for talking to the press.

“I don’t know you and cannot speak to you about what happened that night. You know those people. They will find you (referring to this reporter). My safety is at stake. You know what I am talking about,” said Elisha.

This reporter was about to leave when one of the residents who was listening to the conversation chipped in.

“Did your boss ask you not to speak? You better speak. It is for your good,” she said.

He smiled shyly and began narrating how he was tortured for asking the policemen what they had come to do in the estate.

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“There was traffic on the Ajah Express, and one of the estate’s entrances was blocked. The estate’s management had asked us to check the receipts of residents coming in and only open the gate to those who had paid all their estate dues,” said Elisha.

He told FIJ that while he was attending to a resident and checking his receipts, two police vans were behind the resident’s vehicle. After he was done attending to the resident, he opened the gate for the resident to go in, and this was the genesis of his unpleasant encounter with the police officers that night.

“I was about to close the gate when they started shouting at me and asking if I did not see that they were policemen. They were saying I wanted to shut the gate in their faces. About ten of them descended from their vehicle and began to beat me,” said Elisha.

“One of them was telling me he’d shoot me if I ran, and another ordered me to enter their van. I stood my ground and said I would not go with them because I did not commit any offence. One of them used the butt of his gun to hit my mouth.”

‘NOT THE FIRST TIME’

FIJ learned that this was not the first time policemen had harassed and victimised the estate’s residents.

An executive member of the estate’s residents association who asked not to be named told FIJ that the policemen had harassed other residents on different occasions and she was also a victim of their oppression.

She told FIJ that she had once landed in police custody after an ugly encounter with a female police officer who lived in the estate.

“That day, the security men were carrying out routine checks because we told them not to let anyone in without a form of identification or proof that they had paid all their estate dues. One female police officer wanted to come in, and we told her to call her landlord so that he would call us and we would then grant her access.

“But she was headstrong, willing to flout the estate’s rules and use her influence as a police officer to go in. She became livid and grabbed the shirt of one of the security guards on duty. I tried to intervene, and she tore my clothes.”

She added that she called her fellow police officers, and when they arrived, instead of resolving the disputes, they aggravated the situation and took her to the Ogombo Police Station.

She also narrated to FIJ how the DPO of that police station violently collected the keys to one of the estate’s gates around 1 am so he could drive out after the security guard on duty denied him entry.

“We do not usually open that particular gate, but he was unyielding and refused to listen. He forcefully collected the key, opened the gate and drove away with the key and padlock around 1 am. He also left the gate open and put the lives and properties of the residents at risk.”

LIVING IN HOUSES MARKED FOR DEMOLITION

FIJ also learned that some policemen from the Ogombo Police Station reside in some apartments in the estate that were marked for demolition by the Lagos State Ministry of Housing.

The estate’s executives told FIJ that some of the policemen who reside in the estate occasionally harass other residents and evade the payment of estate dues.

“They make living in the estate uncomfortable for other residents. They also bring in all sorts of miscreants to squat with them, exposing us to security risks,” she said.

She also told FIJ that they had reported to the police station on several occasions but they would always side with their fellow police officers and do nothing about it.

FIJ contacted the Divisional Crime Officer at Ogombo Police Station on Thursday for comments, but he told FIJ that no such case had been reported to the station.

FIJ also sent a message to Benjamin Hundeyin, the Lagos State Police PRO, but there was no response at press time.