If not for the wealth of experience of Police Inspector, Christian Onawona, attached to the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of Lagos State Police Command, six innocent people including two children, would have been shot and mistook as robbers by operatives at Ogudu Ori-Oke, Ogudu, Lagos.
A woman, Lauretta Ehon, suddenly ran to inform RRS operatives patrolling the axis at about 17:30 hrs over the weekend, that some armed robbers just snatched her Toyota Camry car 2012.
Immediately, the police officer followed her to give the supposed fleeing robbers a chase.
On the trail of the robbers, there was a hectic traffic but in order to catch up with the thieves, the officer alighted from his official vehicle and mounted a motor bike to chase the acclaimed reported robbers.
However, the occupants of the car, which was being chased never had an inkling that they were on the verge of being mistook for robbery and that the police was trailing them.
In order to prevent the robbers from taking the vehicle with registration number, EP 932 KRD away, the officer shot into air. Upon hearing the gunshot fired by the officer, the driver of the vehicle applied the brake instantly.
Then, the police officer cautiously approached the supposedly stolen vehicle only to discover that the occupants were three female, one male and two children. At this point, the police officer got to know that the complainant raised a false alarm.
The occupants of the vehicle were, Sekinat Sanni, Wasiu Balogun, Bisola Balogun and Rukayat Joseph. The little children were, Sameer Balogun and Motunrayo Joseph of one and two year old respectively, all family going on social outing.
The story later turned out to be faraway from the truth.
What really transpired between the woman that raised false alarm and the owner of the 2012 Camry car was a mere business transaction which occurred about six years ago.
The husband to the woman who raised the false alarm and the owner of the car transacted a business which had to do with clearing of a Tokunbo car from oversea.
Unfortunately, the vehicle went into demurrage after the client (Mr Ehon) paid the clearing agent, (Mr Balogun). And between the duo, they have settled the matter amicably for both of them worked in the same company in Apapa.
But to his paranoid wife, she had promised that she will collect the money from the clearing agent whenever she
sets eyes on him.
On the day of incident, the woman saw him and started threatening to snuff life out of him. But unknowingly to the woman, the man was not inside the car when she raised the false alarm but his family members were the occupants of the car.
In her reaction, one of the lucky occupants of the car, Bisola Balogun, who was visibly elated said that she was full of praises to the officer who pursued them for not have misused his firearm.
“In fact, I am still at shock. If it were to be another police officer, it is possible that he might shoot our car and anything could have happened. We thank God and appreciate the officer for applying uncommon wisdom in handling the matter”, she added.
According to the Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Dolapo Badmos, the police officer showed experience and bravery in handling the issue, if not for him, the entire event could have turned against the police.
The woman has been transferred to the State Criminal Investigation Department (SCID), Panti, for prosecution.
PM News
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