2 hours ago
1
Brutalised by a military general and his boys over the right of way, an Abuja-based health worker, Vershima Mker, shares with AYOOLA OLASUPO how he sustained a head injury from the attack, his detention at the police station and the quest for justice
Where were you going the day the incident happened?
I was going to the pharmacy to get some medication.
What led to the altercation between you and the military officers?
In one sense, it was brutal and not called for because the whole incident didn’t warrant the assault at all.
Can you describe what transpired?
This happened on November 6, 2024. I was driving straight ahead and close to a T-junction to my left. Now, the Army General was coming out from the T-junction, and I was already there. The way they drove out was such that they came so close to me, and I couldn’t move away from the road. This was because people were selling things there, and some vehicles were behind me too. Their vehicle wasn’t a convoy.
So, it wasn’t a matter of saying I was trying to overtake a convoy. It was one official car, and they suddenly came out from the T-junction, joined up, and went straight ahead the way I was headed. They came in so fast, very close to me that I couldn’t move away from the road because other people were standing by the road; they were either standing or selling. If you know Gwarimpa very well, you’ll understand what I’m saying. Therefore, if I had moved off the road, I would hit those people with my car. So, all I had to do was to maintain my lane, focus on where I was going, and just try to keep moving.
What happened after they moved close to you?
They felt like I was having a tussle with them over the right of way which was not the case. Of course, my car went ahead of them, only for them to park in front of my car. They blocked my way, came down, and started throwing punches at me and all that.
How many officers came down from their vehicle to assault you?
All three of them came down; the general, his orderly was there, and the driver.
In a social media clip, you were heard saying, ‘How did I bash your car? Were you accused of overtaking them?
No, I was saying, ‘How did I bash your car?’ They were accusing me of hitting their car and I didn’t hit their vehicle.
You were seen bleeding on the head. Were you hit with anything?
Yes, I was. It was while they were throwing punches at me. I was trying to block the punches, and my fiancée was also trying to stop them from hitting me. Of course, she was telling them that I was not fine. At some point, I saw that this thing was not going to end; that was when I told her to pick up her phone and start recording so that I could also have something to hold on to.
At some point, while we were struggling with them, my wristwatch came off my hand and one of those officers held on to it. The wristwatch was quite heavy because it is a chain wristwatch and that was what he used as the punches were coming in. It was one of them that used the wristwatch to hit my eye.
Can you recognise the person who hit you with the wristwatch? Was it the general?
I can’t tell who because everything was happening very fast. The three of them were by my car window. So, I don’t know who held the wristwatch, hit my eye and made me bleed. I cannot categorically say that it was the general or another person who did it. Everything happened very fast.
Were you taken to a hospital for the treatment of the injury?
Nothing like that happened.
So, what happened after that scene?
Well, after they discovered that my fiancée was recording, they came and started hitting her to stop the recording. They wanted to collect the phone, and she flung it into a stranger’s car. She saw a stranger’s car passing, and out of fear that if they collected the phone, they would break it because we all know how these people behave.
So, she just flung the phone into another person’s car, and it was after they saw that the phone was not with us anymore that they entered their car and went after that car to retrieve the phone and delete the video.
Were they able to retrieve the phone from the stranger’s car?
Of course, they retrieved it and went straight to the police station. The police came, arrested me, and took me to their station, even without attending to my injury. The blood was still dripping from my head when the police came.
After the phone was retrieved, did they delete the video recording?
Yes, they did.
But how were you able to get the one that went viral on social media?
We recovered the video after they deleted it.
Some people were claiming on social media that one of the military officers was holding a knife. Is that true?
No. What they saw was my wristwatch. It was not a knife; none of them was holding a knife.
What happened after you got to the police station?
Well, of course, the narrative at the station was that I tried to assassinate the Army general. I think that was what was reported at the station, and I was labelled a criminal at the police station. I was put behind the counter for long, and I was bleeding, and nobody attended to me. This incident happened around 1pm, and I left the station about 9pm. That was when I started looking for a pharmacist to treat myself.
Who bailed you after your detention at the police station?
Well, before I was bailed, I used my phone to call my fiancée’s mum. My brother and a friend also came. So, they were the ones who were doing the discussions with the DPO and all that. The military officers left me at the police station.
Did you pay any amount as bail at the police station?
No, I didn’t pay anything. They spoke with the DPO only, and I was released.
Can you share some of your experiences while in detention?
Right now, I can’t say for sure, but I was behind the counter for quite some time until someone finally came and started attending to the case. I had written a statement as usual and all that. But it wasn’t a good experience at all. Nobody wants to have any business with the police station especially when I was in a bad condition.
When you were taken to the police station, did the policemen on duty raise any concern about your bleeding head?
Nothing like that happened. The only time someone spoke to me was when they put me at the counter, and I put my head down and blood was dripping down from my head. The only thing the lady there told me was to raise my head and that I should not stain the floor with blood.
How has this incident affected your physical health and emotional well-being?
All I can say now is that the experience is traumatising and I’m trying to be strong. After the incident, I was able to recover the video, and I watched it once. Even when I’m surfing the internet and I come across the video, I go past it because I’ve not been able to watch it again. That incident leaves a memory in my head. It wasn’t a good experience at all. It could have gone sideways and turned into something else, but we thank God. To be honest, it was a traumatising experience.
Was your fiancée injured too and how is she coping now?
She’s also recovering well. She was hit and had a swollen face. Her finger was also fractured. She has also received treatment.
In your petition against the military men, it was stated that you were also detained at a police station. Who ordered your detention?
Well, on Tuesday, November 26, my lawyer and I were invited because the army had requested that an investigation should start. We went there and it was successful. So, everything necessary was done and we are waiting for their feedback again.
Do you have confidence in their investigation?
I can only say I hope and pray that it is done properly.
What are your expectations from the case you initiated?
Well, all I’m looking for is justice. That is all I can say because that experience is not what anyone should go through. Even when you arrest a criminal, there is a level to which you treat the person. The person should be treated with a bit of respect.
We are all Nigerians, and no one should go through that kind of pain and treatment from people who are supposed to protect us. So, all I seek now is a fair treatment of the case and justice should be properly served. That’s all.
English (US) ·