A commercial truck driver is receiving medical treatment after sustaining a gunshot wound during an encounter with police officers at a checkpoint along the Ketu-Epe-Ikorodu Road in Lagos State.
The incident, which occurred on June 12, has sparked controversy, with conflicting accounts emerging from the victim’s legal representative and the Nigeria Police Force over the circumstances surrounding the shooting.
The victim, identified as Peter Francis, was reportedly returning home from work when officers attached to the Ketu-Ereyun Divisional Police Station stopped his vehicle during a routine stop-and-search operation.
According to his lawyer, Olatunji Ajayi, Francis complied with the officers’ instructions after they requested that he switch on the interior light of his vehicle for inspection.
Ajayi alleged that one of the officers, identified as Corporal Ibrahim, demanded a ₦500 bribe from the driver. He claimed Francis informed the officer that he had already spent the little cash he had left on food, which was in the back seat of his vehicle.
The lawyer further alleged that, without any provocation, the officer opened fire on the vehicle occupied by Francis and another passenger. One of the bullets reportedly struck Francis in the leg, leaving him with serious injuries that required urgent medical attention.
Ajayi also claimed that the officers fled the scene after realising the driver had been shot, leaving the injured victim without immediate assistance.
According to the lawyer, military personnel attached to the Lagos State Food and Logistics Hub, who were nearby at the time of the incident, intervened after hearing the gunshot. He said the soldiers pursued the police officers to their station, brought them back to the scene, and directed that the injured driver be taken to hospital for treatment.
Francis was reportedly taken to two hospitals, where he was allegedly denied admission before he was eventually transferred to the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Yaba. He later underwent emergency surgery and is currently receiving treatment while doctors work to save his injured leg.
The Lagos State Police Command has confirmed that the shooting occurred but stated that its preliminary findings differ significantly from the account presented by the victim and his legal representative.
The Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Abimbola Adebisi, disclosed that the officers involved in the incident have been detained pending further investigation. She noted that the command is reviewing the circumstances surrounding the shooting and assured that appropriate action would be taken based on the outcome of the investigation.
Providing the police version of events, the Divisional Police Officer of the Ketu-Ereyun Divisional Police Station, CSP Kalu Chijioke, rejected allegations that the officers demanded money or fired without justification.
According to him, the incident occurred during a stop-and-search operation near the Lagos-Ogun border, where officers had mounted a checkpoint as part of ongoing security measures.
The DPO stated that Francis was driving a Toyota Camry with a female passenger when officers flagged down the vehicle. He claimed the driver initially complied but suddenly accelerated while officers were approaching the car.
Chijioke alleged that the speeding vehicle knocked down one officer, brushed another, and advanced toward Corporal Ibrahim in what police described as an attempt to use the vehicle as a weapon. He said the officer fired at the vehicle in an effort to stop the perceived attack, with the bullet striking Francis in the lower part of his knee.
The DPO further stated that the case is being treated as one involving the attempted murder of police officers, assault on law enforcement personnel performing their lawful duties, and the alleged possession of substances suspected to be illicit drugs.
He also denied claims that officers abandoned the victim after the shooting, insisting that they immediately made efforts to transport him to a medical facility.
According to Chijioke, a group of the victim’s colleagues later gathered at the police station and allegedly threatened to attack the facility, prompting concern over public order. He added that military personnel arrived at the scene to assess the situation, but police officers assured them that the incident was under control and that arrangements had already been made to secure medical treatment for the injured driver.
The DPO confirmed that Francis was taken to two hospitals before he was eventually admitted to the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital following his intervention.
Meanwhile, the incident has generated renewed public concern over the use of firearms by security personnel during routine police operations. The outcome of the ongoing investigation is expected to determine the circumstances surrounding the shooting and whether any disciplinary or legal action will be taken against the officers involved.
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