* Police decline comment
Fifteen years after the court awarded him N6.1million damages
for being shot by a policeman, a driver, David Ehiosun, 45, has yet
to be paid the compensation.
But the police yesterday declined to speak on the issue. Lagos
State Police Command spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent, said he
had nothing to say.
Ehiosun, a father of five, was shot on his left leg in 2003 by
Inspector Sunday Omoseigho on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja,
Lagos.
It was alleged that the inspector shot Ehiosun because the
driver allegedly stopped him from sexually harassing a teenage
girl.
Ehiosun claimed that he lost his job because of the injury,
adding that he has become a liability to his family.
According to a report by Dr I. A. Mustafa of the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Ehiosun sustained
open fracture of the left tibia and fibula following the
gunshot.
In 2009, Ehiosun, through the Office of the Public Defender
(OPD), took Omoseigho, Lagos Police Commissioner and the
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to court.
The matter, he said, dragged till October 15, 2014, when Justice
Bola Ighile of the Lagos High Court ordered the police to pay him
N6.1m damages.
He said: “Due to the injury I sustained from the gunshot, I
cannot stand for long and cannot walk well. I have been going in
and out of hospital due to complications from the injury.
“I have five children and I cannot even fend for them. Feeding
daily and taking care of my bills is now a luxury I cannot afford.
Some of my children have been forced to drop out of school. I just
want the police to do the needful so that I can get my life
together and give my children a better life.”
Ehiosun said he had written to the state government in order to
get the police to pay him.
He said: “In 2017, I wrote to the office of the Lagos State
Governor to come to my aid. The governor ordered the
Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice to act on my case. But
till date, nothing has been done.”
Ehiosun said Omoseigho underwent orderly room trial and was
demoted to Sergeant.
He said Omoseigho robbed him of his happiness and good health,
while the police only gave their man a slap on the wrist.
The driver said: “Does it now mean that a uniform man can do
whatever he pleases with the life of a common man and only get a
slap on the wrist as punishment? Or is the police now above the law
that even a court judgement means nothing to them?
“The incident occurred on May 4, 2003. A day before the
incident, the inspector asked me to call him a teenage girl who he
wanted to sleep with and I refused. I told him the parents of the
girl in question know me as a pastor and I cannot betray such trust
and respect.
“He threatened to deal with me and even shoot me, so I walked
away. When I was passing by the next day, he was drinking with his
police friend at Kingsway Bus Stop.
“When he saw me, he stopped me and accused me of disobeying him.
When I tried to explain myself he got angry and poured his drink on
me.
“I asked him why he went that far and he said he would shoot me
and while I was still trying to explain myself, he shot me on my
left leg. Immediately he ran away. I was left in a pool of my own
blood. People around quickly looked for a vehicle and rushed me to
LASUTH in Ikeja.
“I reported the incident at Area F Police Command and the
inspector was arrested. The matter was subsequently transferred to
the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department
(SCIID), Panti, Yaba.
“During interrogation, Omoseigho denied pulling the trigger at
me. The police further arrested the other policemen who were at the
scene of the incident. They all confessed to the fact that the
suspect shot me.
“He went through the orderly room trial and he was found guilty.
He was demoted to a Sergeant. No form of compensation was given to
me. Instead the then Commissioner of Police advised me to take my
case to the police headquarters in Abuja.”
Ehiosun said OPD intervened and wrote to the then IGP, but there
was no response.
“I travelled to Abuja to see the IGP and also to register my
plight in person. After spending three weeks in Abuja, I was asked
to take my case to the Commissioner of Police Legal. The CP Legal
after hearing my case, referred me back to the CP Lagos.
“It was at this point that a Good Samaritan, who was touched by
my plight, advised me to take my case to court. The matter was in
court for years before I got judgement. The judgement stated that
the police should pay me N6.1 million as damages.”
Appealing for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention, Ehiosun
also urged IGP Ibrahim Idris come to his aid and ensure compliance
with the court verdict.
* Police decline comment
Fifteen years after the court awarded him N6.1million damages
for being shot by a policeman, a driver, David Ehiosun, 45, has yet
to be paid the compensation.
But the police yesterday declined to speak on the issue. Lagos
State Police Command spokesman Chike Oti, a Superintendent, said he
had nothing to say.
Ehiosun, a father of five, was shot on his left leg in 2003 by
Inspector Sunday Omoseigho on Mobolaji Bank Anthony Way, Ikeja,
Lagos.
It was alleged that the inspector shot Ehiosun because the
driver allegedly stopped him from sexually harassing a teenage
girl.
Ehiosun claimed that he lost his job because of the injury,
adding that he has become a liability to his family.
According to a report by Dr I. A. Mustafa of the Lagos State
University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH), Ikeja, Ehiosun sustained
open fracture of the left tibia and fibula following the
gunshot.
In 2009, Ehiosun, through the Office of the Public Defender
(OPD), took Omoseigho, Lagos Police Commissioner and the
Inspector-General of Police (IGP) to court.
The matter, he said, dragged till October 15, 2014, when Justice
Bola Ighile of the Lagos High Court ordered the police to pay him
N6.1m damages.
He said: “Due to the injury I sustained from the gunshot, I
cannot stand for long and cannot walk well. I have been going in
and out of hospital due to complications from the injury.
“I have five children and I cannot even fend for them. Feeding
daily and taking care of my bills is now a luxury I cannot afford.
Some of my children have been forced to drop out of school. I just
want the police to do the needful so that I can get my life
together and give my children a better life.”
Ehiosun said he had written to the state government in order to
get the police to pay him.
He said: “In 2017, I wrote to the office of the Lagos State
Governor to come to my aid. The governor ordered the
Attorney-General and Commissioner of Justice to act on my case. But
till date, nothing has been done.”
Ehiosun said Omoseigho underwent orderly room trial and was
demoted to Sergeant.
He said Omoseigho robbed him of his happiness and good health,
while the police only gave their man a slap on the wrist.
The driver said: “Does it now mean that a uniform man can do
whatever he pleases with the life of a common man and only get a
slap on the wrist as punishment? Or is the police now above the law
that even a court judgement means nothing to them?
“The incident occurred on May 4, 2003. A day before the
incident, the inspector asked me to call him a teenage girl who he
wanted to sleep with and I refused. I told him the parents of the
girl in question know me as a pastor and I cannot betray such trust
and respect.
“He threatened to deal with me and even shoot me, so I walked
away. When I was passing by the next day, he was drinking with his
police friend at Kingsway Bus Stop.
“When he saw me, he stopped me and accused me of disobeying him.
When I tried to explain myself he got angry and poured his drink on
me.
“I asked him why he went that far and he said he would shoot me
and while I was still trying to explain myself, he shot me on my
left leg. Immediately he ran away. I was left in a pool of my own
blood. People around quickly looked for a vehicle and rushed me to
LASUTH in Ikeja.
“I reported the incident at Area F Police Command and the
inspector was arrested. The matter was subsequently transferred to
the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department
(SCIID), Panti, Yaba.
“During interrogation, Omoseigho denied pulling the trigger at
me. The police further arrested the other policemen who were at the
scene of the incident. They all confessed to the fact that the
suspect shot me.
“He went through the orderly room trial and he was found guilty.
He was demoted to a Sergeant. No form of compensation was given to
me. Instead the then Commissioner of Police advised me to take my
case to the police headquarters in Abuja.”
Ehiosun said OPD intervened and wrote to the then IGP, but there
was no response.
“I travelled to Abuja to see the IGP and also to register my
plight in person. After spending three weeks in Abuja, I was asked
to take my case to the Commissioner of Police Legal. The CP Legal
after hearing my case, referred me back to the CP Lagos.
“It was at this point that a Good Samaritan, who was touched by
my plight, advised me to take my case to court. The matter was in
court for years before I got judgement. The judgement stated that
the police should pay me N6.1 million as damages.”
Appealing for President Muhammadu Buhari’s intervention, Ehiosun
also urged IGP Ibrahim Idris come to his aid and ensure compliance
with the court verdict.
Read more https://nairalaw.com/shot-driver-cries-out-over-police-failure-to-pay-him-n6-1m-damages/