26- year-old Khomeini Bukhari, a British citizen, is still recovering from an incident that he said left him “psychologically traumatized,” and he will not find rest until media outlets throughout the world know what happened to him.
26- year-old Khomeini Bukhari, a British citizen, is still recovering from an incident that he said left him “psychologically traumatized,” and he will not find rest until media outlets throughout the world know what happened to him.
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Bukhari wants justice for the harassment he recently encountered from a couple of Nigerian police officers.
That’s why he contacted the likes of Sahara Reporters, The African Herald Express, Punch news, This Day, The Guardian Nigeria, Nigeria’s Vanguard, Nigeria’s Sun, the Guardian UK, The Metro, the UK Times series and the London Evening Standard.
He will soon be featured on African Independent Television and will appear next week on Ben Television in the UK. He told SaharaTV that he has also contacted Press TV, BBC, Sky TV, CNN and Al Jazeera.
Bukhari won’t stop until “appropriate action is taken by the police of Nigeria,” Bukhari wrote in a letter to Sahara Reporters.
Bukhari, head of the Africa division of Peel Aston Global Resources Limited, claims that two Nigerian police officers, whom he identified as Samual Ekpah and Daniel Marcus, harassed him on the evening of October 29, 2011 in Abuja’s Millennium Park.
“…two drunk police officers stopped me, they told me no visitors are allowed after 6pm, I explained to them I didn't know this as I'm a visitor and when I entered at 7pm there were lots of people and nobody stopped me at the gate. I pleaded with them and they were threatening to beat me and strip me naked and kidnap me and the rest. They asked for my I.D and I said I left it in the hotel, they then searched me,” Bukhari explained.
He alleges that the officers located and took 200,000 NGN (which converts to about 920 euros; $1,233 USD; 788 GBP) from his pocket as well as his Breitling Chronomat Evolution Wristwatch, worth up to 1.3 million NGN.
The whole ordeal left him “shocked and traumatized” -- but it didn’t stop there.
Bukhari said that the officers threatened to beat him, strip him naked, kidnap him and steal his Blackberry phone.
“When they were trying to take my phone, I was crying. Tears came out of my eyes and they were drunk. The whole thing was scary,” he told Sahara Reporters during a phone interview.
Though Bukhari had frequented Nigeria on a number of enjoyable occasions, this particular trip-- which Bukhari had embarked to finalize wedding arrangements with the family of his fiancée --had quickly turned into a nightmare.
He was left stranded, forced to rely on his friends for money. On October 31, Bukhari sought assistance from the British High Commission office in Abuja and filed a report at the Maitama Divisional Police Station. He was led to the Ministry of Police Affairs and the Foreign Commonwealth Office, according to Bukhari. However, after one run-around after another, Bukhari became suspicious by the lack of progress with the investigation.
“I have gone back and forth…however, I am not getting any feedback. Unless I don’t go to then, they don’t even call me. Does this mean they don’t care, or are they trying to hide the police officers and cover up the story?” Bukhari asked.
Bukhari is now back in Britain and continues seeking justice. His call to the Chief Security Officer of the Minister of Police Affairs went unanswered, just as his emails to the Special Assistant to the Nigeria High Commissioner in the UK, Mr. A.O. Enikanolaiye http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/sections have not been replied.
But, when Bukhari was finally able to reach Enikanolaiye, he claims that he was told that robberies happen everywhere.
“..and I asked do they happen everywhere by the police or by criminals,” Bukhari claimed he asked Enikanolaiye. His question was left unanswered. Bukhari also said he was told the he would not be able to see the High Commissioner, His Excellency, Dr. Dalhatu Tafida. http://www.nigeriahc.org.uk/high-commissioner
“In Nigeria, a lot of crimes are done by the police but that does not make it right. Are they covering themselves, do they think if they mess me around I will eventually give up. I have no intention of giving up till I get justice. This type of event is completely unacceptable.” Khomeini Bukhari
Ironically, Bukhari has always loved visiting Nigeria and had even become a sort of spokesperson for the country. He said he had always spoken well of Nigeria to people.
He told Sahara Reporters: “I’m always representing Nigeria in positive ways, but when this happened to me, the Nigerians turned their backs on me…not even the High Commissioner wants to see me.”
Khomeini Bukhari will be on SaharaTV LIVE on Saturday December 10 at 11:00 New York Time.
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