Why we rejected N250,000 settlement offer by Police – Ogun victim

A victim of police brutality in Ogun State, Kamol Ganiyu has appealed to the state government for treatment of his leg which was hit by a stray bullet fired by a police officer.

He alleged that police officers from the command headquarters offered his family  N250,000 as settlement fee, to forget about the case, but they rejected it.

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He spoke at the Magistrate Court 1, Isabo, Abeokuta while appearing before the Ogun State Judicial Panel of Investigation set up to probe complaints of victims on police brutality, human rights violations and extra-judicial killings by security operatives within the state.

He said officers attached to the Ibara Divisional Police Headquarters in Abeokuta carried out the heinous act on July 17, 2018.

“I need government’s support because the x-ray I took revealed that my joint has been damaged by the bullet and a huge amount is needed to fly me out for adequate treatment,” Ganiyu said.

The petitioner added that after the incidence, “the police officers handling the case called me to Elewe-Eran Police station, offered me N250,000 and asked me to sign a form that I would not pursue the case in court which I refused to sign.”

Presenting his case before the panel, the petitioner said, “I was driving and right under Ibara bridge in Abeokuta, I heard a gunshot which penetrated my car and destroyed my right leg, I fainted after losing so much blood and was rushed to the Federal Medical Centre, Idi Aba, Abeokuta where I spent over six months receiving treatment.”

On their part, the respondents, ASP Akeem Jimoh and Inspector Lola Onifade, who were accused of offering the victim a sum of N250,000 to bury the case, denied the accusation.

The respondents did not reveal the police officer who shot Ganiyu.

The chairman of the panel, Hon. Justice Solomon Olugbemi (rtd), said a total of 207 medical bill receipts, eight photographs and a cloth with blood stains were received while the car with bullet hole was also inspected and marked as exhibits as presented by the petitioner.