70-Year-Old Narrates Encounter With EndSARS Protesters Shouting ‘Kill Him, Kill Him, He’s A Policeman’

A member of the Police Community Relations Committee in Enugu State, Mr James Okolo, Wednesday, told THE WHISTLER how he narrowly escaped being lynched last Thursday by #EndSARS protesters, who mistook him for a police officer.

Okolo, who refused to be snapped, said he was still recovering from the shock a week after, especially after he was told that a policeman was burnt the same day in a similar manner by the same protesters in the state.

According to Mba, a retired civil servant, “It was around 6pm, last Thursday, on Okpara Avenue, precisely by the rail line. I pulled over when I saw the smoke billowing from tyres being burnt on the road. Before I could make a u-turn, two of the protesters had jumped on top of my bonnet; one even covered my windscreen with his body. I thought it was a joke, until four more persons ran towards us, shouting him ‘kill him, he is a policeman’. Two out of them jumped inside my car and began to struggle with me. One actually went for my pocket and removed the money there. But I was concerned about my safety. I told them that I was not a police officer, that the Police Community Relations Committee sticker on my windscreen was put there by my son, who is not a policeman either. They removed the sticker, and began to surround me. I called one, and told him that I had retired from the civil service; that I was about 70. I commended them for the protest. I told them I was totally in their support. As I was explaining, more people were coming furiously. God saved me when one of them commanded others to leave me. I managed to reverse, and in my confusion, I ran into a ditch, and the iron there deflated my two front tyres. But that one is a side talk, especially when I was told that a police officer was burnt the same day inside his vehicle.”

Meanwhile, uniformed personnel in the Enugu metropolis now wear mufti for safety purposes. An officer of the Federal Road Safety Corps, who does not want his name mentioned, said, “Uniformed men are the prey, so for now we don’t wear uniforms. We also don’t check vehicle papers. But when things normalise, we shall return to duties. Do you still see policemen on the road in town? We are precautious now.”

Vehicle inspection officials that used to be a nightmare for motorists in Enugu were also missing, as none of them could be spotted on the road. A bus driver, Chinedu Mba, said, “For now, we have peace. The police, road safety, and VIO are no longer disturbing us as they used to do. The much road safety people do is to demonstrate to us to drive small, small. They also don’t wear uniforms.”