Tales of Nigerian policemen harassing innocent citizens especially young men are not new.

The latest is the story of an internet user, Stephen Kobams who narrated how he was harrased by five unruly policemen in Lagos with the aim of extorting him.

He also revealed how he was saved by the Deputy Police Public Relations Officer,Aleey Giwa.

He wrote, “I have been hearing stories of how people get harrassed on the streets of lagos by Nigerian police and today i encountered it.

I was on my way to the bank atm close to my place at Maryland bus stop and i was stopped by two police officers. My transcript with them:

Me: Good afternoon

Police 1: where are u going to??

Me: am going to use the atm across the road

Police 2: can we see ur phone??

( i gave them my phone)

Police 2: please unlock ur phone

Me: i cant unlock my phone.. police 1: you are a stupid boy, who do u think you are.

Me: am a normal citizen going to use the bank atm and got stopped by u guys

Police 1: you get mouth abi

Police 2: na yahoo boy he go be ,look the phone wey he dey use

Police 2: where did u get money to buy this phone??

Me: my parents bought it for me

Police 3,4,5 all came together, making a total of five policemen talking to me and harassing me and they kept saying unlock ur phone or go to station.

Prior to these encounter today, when people tell me about their experiences with the police, i told myself i will never unlock my phone or follow them anywhere. I had the police ppro number on my phone, thinking that will save me , maybe i will just talk to SIRI to call the PPRO and not have to unlock my phone but it wasn’t possible cuz i was in the midst of five hefty policemen with scary faces and rifles. They told me to either unlock my phone and let them check it or i follow them to station. I told them i need to call my parents and tell them their son is going to jail but my request was denied and they started mentioning names of yahoo boys that i probably work with one of em. All this drama was right in the middle of a busy road, everyone that passed at that moment will probably think the police are working and they have caught a criminal. I was marched to their van where i met police No 6. He sounded polite at first till he said you will go to jail unless you open your phone. I told him i prefer jail then police no 2 used his gun to hit me and told me to enter the van.

I told him i have never entered a police van and i don’t think i can follow them anywhere without my parents knowing my whereabouts.

He pushed me inside the van and said “i know you are a yahoo boy, just settle us “. I told him me settling you guys means am a yahoo boy and am not. Police No 1 started making a fake call:

Him: we have caught a yahoo boy, please bring a car and lets take him to the station.

He looked at me after the call and said ” when you get to the station, we have experts , they will open ur iphone in seconds without ur password.

He threatened me that they were going to open a cyber fraud case file for me and i will be tortured .

While we were going back and forth that i wasn’t going to unlock my phone, i spotted the deputy police PRO Aliyu giwa and i called out to him. He was coming to that same place cuz they harassed someone earlier and the person went to report to him and he followed the person to Maryland to find out who harassed the guy. I quickly jumped out of the van and ran to where Aliyu giwa was standing.

He asked them why they put me inside their van and they said i look like a yahoo boy. He asked me if they had collected anything from me. I said yes my phone,he collected it and gave it back to me.

@aleeygiwa saved me today, he might not be able to save me from these corrupt and wicked policemen tomorrow.”

See video below;