The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), Epe Branch, has condemned in strong terms the killing of two commercial motorcyclists and the wounding of another by policemen attached to the Elemoro Police Station, Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State.
The incident, which occurred on Thursday at Onosa Junction, sparked outrage among residents and commercial motorcyclists, who staged a massive protest a day later before soldiers intervened to restore order.
In a joint statement issued on Saturday by the Branch Chairman, Dr. S. O. Jimoh, and Vice Chairman/Chairman of the Human Rights Committee, Ivo Takor, the lawyers described the killings as “cold-blooded, unlawful, and a direct assault on the right to life guaranteed under Section 33 of the 1999 Constitution.”
The NBA alleged that officers of the Elemoro Police Station have a history of harassment, extortion, and abuse of power in communities around Onosa.
It said findings by its Human Rights Committee revealed that policemen routinely seized motorcycles from riders and demanded between ₦150,000 and ₦300,000 before releasing them.
According to the statement, “It was in the course of perpetuating these criminal activities that two citizens were killed and another seriously injured. These acts are indefensible, unlawful, and a clear breach of both domestic and international human rights obligations binding on Nigeria.”
The association also accused the officers of mounting illegal roadblocks along the expressway with logs of wood, which it described as “nothing more than tools of daily extortion and harassment of law-abiding motorists.”
While demanding the immediate prosecution of all policemen involved in the killings, the NBA called for the establishment of an independent judicial panel of inquiry to probe the activities of the Elemoro Police Station.
It further urged the Inspector-General of Police to dismantle all illegal checkpoints in the area and compensate the families of the victims.
“We will not stand idly by while agents of the state desecrate the constitution and terrorise law-abiding citizens. Accountability must come, and justice must be served,” the statement added.
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