Cop shoots man over ‘sin’ committed by uncle

A sin allegedly committed by a man was visited on his nephew by the police, who shot the latter for trying to escape arrest for a “crime” committed by his uncle. Trouble started for Farouk Rashid, a Ghanaian, when a woman reported her disapproval of a love affair going on between her sister and Rashid’s uncle, Jubril, who all live in the same apartment.

The said woman reportedly enlisted the services of policemen to end the relationship. A constable was thus detailed to arrest the lover boy, but, when the police got to the house, Jubril was not home.

Farouk, who was met at home, was arrested instead. He was said to have been beaten blue black before being dragged to the station.
Daily Sun learnt that it was at the station that he was shot in the abdomen allegedly by the constable, as he tried to escape.

News of the incident and rumour that the victim had died ignited protests in the community, with the protesters threatening to burn down the police station but for the quick intervention of the Area Commander, who told them that he was not dead. The policemen were said to have abandoned the victim at the State Hospital , Ijaiye, Abeokuta .

To douse tension, the state Commissioner of Police, Mr. Musa Daura, promised that the police constable “would face the music” if he was found culpable in the attack: “If the man is actually a policeman, and after investigation, we realize that he is guilty, we will not spare him. He will face the music. It is a civil matter and we have a way of handling issues like that. We are still investigating.”

Rashid’s family, however, faulted the claim of the police that he was shot while running away from the policemen detailed to arrest him. The relations, led by Mrs. Augustina Rashidi said in the premises of the hospital that the 24-year-old victim was shot after being dragged to the police station in Sabo area of the town.

The family members, who were still monitoring the critical condition of Rashid, after the hospital finally decided to operate on the victim without police report, contended that the young man was arrested at
home and was beaten to a pulp before he was dragged to the police station.