A viral video showed a visibly-terrified
police officer being dragged away by a furious mob, which later turned
out to be DCP Kolawole Okunola, a Deputy Commissioner of Police on
election duty. Daily Trust Saturday spoke to him on his experience on
that day, and how he, in his own words, escaped death.
Deputy
Commissioner of Police in-charge of Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad
(FSARS) in Bayelsa State, Kolawole Okunola, was abducted by armed thugs
during the just-concluded presidential and National Assembly elections,
in a harrowing incident that had the officer reveal that he was almost
killed by the mob that violently tried to drag him away to an
undisclosed location.
The officer, who was on election duties at
the time he was dragged away, said he was seriously assaulted, and was
at the point of being beheaded when succour came. “It was like what
happens in an action film. They manhandled me, and I was attacked
severally with clubs and was at the verge of being beheaded when I was
rescued,” he told Daily Trust Saturday.
Sources revealed
that it was the timely intervention, and efforts, of a Nigerian Army
captain that saved Okunola, in the nick of time.
DCP Okunola, who
had served in almost all the parts of the country, said that he was
invited to the scene after armed hoodlums in large number attacked INEC
officials who earlier arrived the community with electoral materials, in
Bassambiri community, of Nembe Local Government Area.
Okunola
said the hoodlums had reportedly hijacked – and allegedly carted away –
electoral materials meant for seven wards in the area, and took them to a
popular hotel in a bid to manipulate the results. It was learned that
after they brought back the alleged fake results to the INEC office,
another opposing group who were alerted of the development, started
protesting.
Okunola said while the group was protesting, the
armed thugs that earlier hijacked INEC materials arrived at the jetty
accompanied by a great number of armed youths and insisted that INEC
officials must authenticate the manipulated results before leaving the
community. “Since I was on duty in the area, I was alerted to the scene
after hearing loud noises coming from the INEC office. I later got to
know that the noise was voices being raised by INEC Officials and party
agents who were having had disagreement over election materials and
results which was escorted by party agents from Bassambiri to INEC
office. While the party agents were arguing that there were no elections
in Bassambiri, and wondered why the results came from, I tried to calm
them down, and ask that they write their petition to INEC, but all
efforts proved abortive.”
Okunola said the number of the youths
grew, and the INEC officials felt unsafe and demanded to be escorted to
Yenagoa with the election materials. “Then in order to avoid imminent
breakdown of law and order by the thugs around, I informed the
Commissioner of Police of Balyesa and he directed that both officials of
INEC and the materials should be moved to the state capital, Yenagoa,
for safety. This was agreed with the military officers on duty,” he
added.
It was however learned from another officer that it was in
that process that party candidates led youths in a large number, and
attacked Okunola, dragging and assaulting him with threats to kill him
if he failed to direct the INEC officials to go back to the office and
continue collation of results. “The INEC officials were forced back to
continue with the collation of results under a very tense condition with
sporadic shootings all over,” the officer said.
The officer also
told Daily Trust Saturday that as soon as the thugs abducted Okunola,
they dragged him to an unknown place where they subjected him to
threats, torture, and severe beatings. In the process, his uniform,
including its accoutrements, were torn to pieces. The youths were
chanting war songs, and saying that the police officer must die. They
later sat him down in a wooden box and brought out daggers and other
dangerous weapons, in preparation of a beheading, in spite of pleas, and
the intervention of an army officer.
While the army officer
pleaded, it bought Okunola some time, said a source. “Luckily, while
they were waiting for the final order by their leader to carry out their
threat, mother luck smiled on Okunola, as a message came from one of
them that INEC officials have gone back to authenticate the manipulated
results. That was how they left the police officer and trooped to the
venue to complete their mission,” he said.
Okunola, who
reportedly regained his freedom around 11:00am that same day, was
rescued by one of the police marine units that was already dispatched to
comb the creeks for the missing officer, on the orders of the
Inspector-General of Police. He was rescued and taken to AGIP by the
Police Marine Unit, after which he headed back to his station.
It
can be recalled that the Nigeria Police has, in the past few days,
placed adverts in some national dailies praising Okunola as a hero, as
the initial narrative was inaccurately portraying the situation.
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