The police officer had vowed to kill him before he left Orile for refusing to give him a N100,000 bribe and for reporting him and his team to one of the superior officers at the station.
A Lagos State-based businessman, Idowu Samuel, has raised the alarm over threats to his life by an Assistant Superintendent of Police, ASP Benerd Alabi, attached to the Orile Police Station in Lagos State.
Samuel told SaharaReporters that the senior police officer had vowed to kill him before he left Orile for refusing to give him a N100,000 bribe and for reporting him and his team to one of the superior officers at the station.
Explaining his encounter with ASP Alabi that led to the threat, Samuel said that he woke up on Tuesday morning and saw a message that a number had been trying to reach him on the phone and when he called the number, a lady answered and introduced herself as the wife of one Mr. Kama, whom he identified as a customer.
He said, “I asked her the reason for calling me and she said that her husband has been arrested since Monday and the police was asking her to bring N100,000 but she's begging for N60,000, that I should help her with money.
“I asked her the reason for the arrest and she said her husband who happens to be a Keke Napep rider carried a lady and when they got to the final bus stop, they had an argument over N50 and while the lady refused to pay her husband the N50, her husband held the bag of the lady and in the process, the hand of the bag removed and it led to argument and people intervened to make peace so as for them not to fight each other but the lady left, not knowing it was police station she went to as she bragged initially that she would make her husband pay heavily.
“To her husband’s surprise, while he was still doing his job, a police van stopped him and they asked him to come down, he obeyed and as he moved close to them, he saw the lady with the officers and they took him alongside a young man that was among the people.
“When they got to the police station, the officers said the lady lost N2,500 during the fight, she got injury on her hand, so the man (Kama) will pay N10,000 to the lady as the lady medical bill and the N2,500 and the bag, and that they would take N100,000 for his bail.
“She said she was begging them for N60,000 for everything including the lady's bill and that I should help her husband.”
Samuel continued by saying that when he got to Orile Police Station, he met an officer among the officers that arrested the man who told him everything which was exactly the same thing with what the man’s wife told him on the phone, and he asked the officer what they would do to secure the man’s bail but the officers told him they had told the wife what to do.
“I went to one of the superior officers that I know in his office to let him know I was around and to see if he could help on the matter.
“I got to the Horse 1 office and I met him and explained to him, he said I should let him call the head of the team to know what actually happened and he did.
“Before the arrival of ASP Benerd Alabi, the team head of the officers that arrested the man, I told him (Horse 1) that the man’s wife and I could only afford N20,000 for the bail and for the lady lost items. The superior officer told me that bail is free and that I should not talk about money since I know I want to pay, I should have settled it with them there.
“When ASP Alabi came in, he explained everything to the Oga (boss) and the boss pleaded with him to help me and he said we should go to his office. While we were going to his office, Alabi was annoyed and was bullying me seriously that I had the gut to go and report his team when I heard his name as the one handling the case.
“He said that I should thank God for my life because if it had been in his days as SARS Officer, he would have killed me for what I did and that only if I know many of my type he had sent to prison or killed.
“I was just still begging him, when he said we should bring the N60,000 the lady begged with earlier and I told him that we don't have such amount and Alabi told me that if I don't leave his office immediately, he would do what I will never forget in my life and that I should watch my back that he will bring my body down before leaving Orile.
“I quickly ran back to the senior officer's office and he called Alabi and said he should take the N20,000 like that and help us and he (Alabi) shouted at the boss that he will not take that amount and he walked out.
“ASP Alabi walked to me on the staircase and said that he marked my name among those he might likely kill or send to prison soon, that I should watch my back.
According to Samuel, ASP Alabi said that even if he (Alabi) was taken away from Orile Police station, he would give the assignment to his colleagues because his (Samuel’s) days were numbered for taking his matter to his boss.
SaharaReporters’ efforts to reach ASP Alabi for comments failed as he did not answer calls made to his phone number. Also, an attempt to reach the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, failed as his phone number was said to be unavailable at the time of filing this report.