Police Brutality: 17-Year-Old Nigerian Shot Dead By Policeman On His Way Home

17-year-old Promise Tochukwu, has been gunned down by a yet-to-be-identified police officer in Lagos.

The unfortunate incident took place on Monday morning at Opaleye Bridge, around Okoya Street, in the Ifelodun Local Council Development Area of Lagos State.

It was gathered from PUNCH that the killer cop went into the area with a security team, including military men of the Operation MESA.

According to an eyewitness account by a lady identified as Esther, a man brutalised his girlfriend during an argument that degenerated into a fight which brought the security operatives to the scene.

She said that Promise was on his way home when he was hit by bullets fired by a policeman in the team.

When the security operatives got to the place, the boyfriend was nowhere to be found.

"As I saw the soldiers and policemen, I stood back. But Promise, who was unaware of the situation, came out of the boundary area to connect to his grandma’s residence.

“As the operatives saw him, they asked him to stop. When they observed that he was moving back as if he wanted to run, they shot him. It was a policeman in the team that shot him on the bridge. I went to inform his family," Esther said.

One Agnes, identified as a relative of Promise said that the deceased was taken to a traditional centre where two bullets were extracted from his body.

According to her, he died on his way to the Orege General Hospital for further treatment.

“I was at my mother’s place when Esther rushed in to inform us that Promise had been shot. I quickly stood up, rushed to the scene and saw OP MESA operatives driving away. I was shocked as I saw Promise lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He kept shouting that his chest was paining him and I saw that his left leg had been hit.

“I stopped a vehicle and we rushed him to a man’s place where two bullets were extracted from his body. After the man was done, we were on our way to the Orege General Hospital for treatment when he died.

“The operatives were saying he was mistakenly shot, but we could not do further investigation as we were all after saving his life till he died,” Agnes said.

A community leader who did not want to be identified gave another version of the story. He claimed that Promise was shot by policemen detailed to arrest hoodlums involved in a street fight.

According to him, the fight had been ongoing for five days, adding that Promise was shot after a vigilante pointed at him.

“The street fight involved hoodlums from Okoya, Ezeago and Ayetoro streets. The area boys were fighting over a girl and also because of the amount they usually collect at illegal tollgates in the areas.

“Policemen and vigilantes usually carry out regular raids and at times, they invited the OP MESA to support them. On that day, Promise was on his way home when one of the vigilantes fingered him to the police and he was shot in the leg.

“After shooting him, they abandoned him and left. He died after the attack; but the police and the vigilantes have denied shooting him. Luckily for the family, they have extracted the bullets. The case was reported at the Layeni Police Station.”

Promise’s mother, Bose, while demanding justice, said her son died after losing a lot of blood.

She urged the state government and the police to probe the circumstances surrounding the death.

 According to PUNCH, the state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, said, “No policeman shot anybody to the best of my knowledge. We have yet to receive a report of the incident. However, we will investigate it accordingly and do the needful.”