One week after the clash between officers of the Nigeria Correctional Service (NCS) and motorcycle riders at Agodi gate area of Ibadan, facts emerged on Tuesday that the rider at the centre of the clash, Alfa Hamzat Ibrahim has been groveling in pains having lost his right eye to a bullet shot during the incident.
The fracas had ensued when other okada riders in defending Hamzat who was slapped, and had his motorcycle seized, clashed with the warders to fight against perceived injustice against one of their own. Hamzat had been hit in the eye by a double dose of teargas and gunshot which the authorities of the correctional centre maintained never came from any of their officials.
Though some reports had it that Hamzat died in last Tuesday’s incident, 9News Nigeria’s source visited the University College Hospital (UCH), Ibadan, on Tuesday, to see Hamzat, in dark goggles, seeking financial help for a surgery to ensure that he doesn’t lose his second eye and that his face is salvaged from being permanently disfigured.
While the bullet has been removed from his eye, during an Opthalmology operation, Hamzat has the next seven days to carry out neurology surgery dealing with the skull and another oral surgery at the cost of over N700,000.
Speaking to 9news correspondent in hushed tones, Hamzat recounted that he had only dropped passengers from Mokola at Agodi gate and wanted to pick passengers to Ogunpa when a warder arrested him and took his bike into the prison yard. Unable to fathom what offence he had committed, Hamzat approached some soldiers guarding the prison to plead on his behalf to the warders to release his bike.
According to Hamzat, the soldiers truly pleaded on his behalf, and while he went to reclaim his bike, an infuriated warder dealt him a punch on his left eye for daring to report them to the soldiers.
It was at this point that the okada riders and spare parts sellers who witnessed Hamzat being beaten mercilessly approached the prison officials to express their displeasure thereby leading to the fracas.
Narrating his ordeal, Hamzat said, “suddenly, a warder approached me and arrested me and when I asked why I was arrested, he said I was arrested for being where I was. He then took my bike away to the front of the prison. When I begged him to return my bike to me, he asked me to leave and come back for the bike the following morning”.
“Not knowing what to do, I presented my case to the soldiers who have their beat in front of the prison. I narrated how the warders had seized my bike, and when the soldiers intervened, the warders became annoyed that I reported them to the soldiers and punched me on the left side of my face, an action which made the spare parts dealers who saw what happened to question the warders over their action.
The four warders, Hamzat continued, then faced the people selling spare parts and okada riders questioning the rationale for their involvement in the matter, and that was how the fight began. They questioned why the four warders struck my face despite seeing that I had scars from a previous accident. The warders also used planks to hit my head”.
“The soldiers tried to calm down the situation, but could not handle the crowd. The soldiers got me my bike and asked me to ride it away from the prison. “While trying to leave with my bike, I saw three of the warders, one with a gun and two warders with tear gas, opened teargas on my eyes and then fired a gunshot at me, and that was all I knew till I got to the hospital. I know the three persons that put teargas and fired a gunshot into my face.
“I heard a gunshot and teargas but don’t know it had entered my eye. I cannot see anymore with my right eye. I want well-meaning Nigerians, States and Federal Government to come to my aid.
“I have spent so much on the first surgery. Since I have lost one eye, I will not be able to return to my bike business, but I am still alive and I know there are people who have one eye but still live a normal life. They should save my second eye and my life. I am an agile and strong person. I don’t want to become a beggar. I am 37 years old, I have a National Diploma in Electrical Engineering”.
Speaking on the incident, Hamzat’s wife, Lateefah Raji, bemoaned that her husband suffered maltreatment from a government official and had been abandoned. Noting that the family only struggled to get N200,000 for the surgery to remove the bullet from his eye, Lateefah said only donations from government and well-meaning Nigerians can save her husband and enable him to undertake the next two important surgeries that should be done within the next seven days.
Lateefah said, “since day one of this incident, I was told that it would be the government’s responsibility. Since then, we have been waiting for the government to take over the treatment, or that they should give us a letter so that he could get treatment on government’s bill. One of the officers collected my phone number promising to call me, but it has not happened till today.
“The doctors told me to assume responsibility rather than wait endlessly on government, except I want him to die. I was told that government’s intervention is a long process. So, we began to gather money. By the third day, we were asked to do another series of tests, but there was no fund anymore. The doctor that treated him said since they had removed the bullet from his eyes, I should make necessary payments for them to proceed.
“I am hoping for government’s intervention. We were told he has lost his right eye because the iris has burst. He is having three surgeries to do within few days now, but we have nothing anymore as we have spent about N200,000. He has done ophthalmology operation but left to do neurology surgery dealing with skull and OMS which costs about N700,000.
“We were told that until we have money, they won’t proceed. We will have to purchase some implants to adjust the eye. There are so many tests still to be conducted before the operation could be done. The neurologist said my husband has a grace of 14 days so that it won’t be healing in the wrong side while OMS said he has seven days. They said failure to do it means that the face will no more look normal.”
Meanwhile, Public Relations Officer, Nigerian Correctional Service, Oyo Command, Mr. Anjorin Olanrewaju, on Tuesday, maintained that no prison officials shot at anyone. He added that he was unaware that anyone was injured from a gunshot.
Anjorin said: “This is the first time I am hearing that someone from last Tuesday’s incident is in the hospital and has been abandoned. Nobody was injured from a gunshot. I am not aware that our officials shot at anyone “I have made it clear on different occasions that none of our officers actually shot at anybody. However, if anything happened outside our jurisdiction, there is no way we will know”.
“The Nigerian Correctional Service had informed the okada riders to desist from picking passengers at the junction leading to the facility due to the sensitivity of the area, asking them to move further down the road and allow free movement of vehicles. This peaceful initiative was, however, resisted and they started attacking our men by throwing stones and other dangerous objects”.
“It was in the process some of our staff were wounded and the armed squad were forced to disperse them using tear gas to forestall any attempt to further breach the security of the Agodi Facility,” Anjorin said.
On its involvement in last Tuesday’s incident, the Director General, Oyo State Joint Task Force (Operation Burst), Colonel Ajibola Oladipo (rtd) said its officers only calmed the situation and prevent an attack on the Agodi custodial facility by resolute persons.
Speaking with newsmen in Ibadan, he affirmed that officers of Operation Burst took Hamzat to the UCH to save his life. He, however, absolved the task force of any shooting during the clash between correctional officials and the okada riders.
While praying that Hamzat gets the required funds for his treatment,
Ajibola said Operation burst came to calm the situation because the misunderstanding was between Hamzat and correctional officers. “Our role is to curb anything that will threaten the peace of the state. Police even had to go away. It is wrong for anybody to say people were killed. Our operation officer took him to UCH based on our understanding with the hospital when we have such an incident. The issue was between the correctional service and Hamzat, he explained”.
“We came as an intermediary. They even stoned our men; even soldiers from 2 division came. We have Operation Burst based on the rule of law and respect for human rights. The bitter truth is that the clash is between the prison officials and the okada people. We had to secure the correction centre because miscreants gathered with their motorcycles.
