Private Ihama Osaretin, based
in Myoung Barracks in Yaba, Lagos
State has been identified as the
soldier who punctured the eye
of Segun Enikuemehin, a member of
the Federal Road Safety Corps
(FRSC). The harrowing attack in
which Mr. Enikuemehin lost an eye
took place on August 14, 2016. rivate Ihama Osaretin, based
in Myoung Barracks in Yaba, Lagos
State has been identified as the
soldier who punctured the eye
of Segun Enikuemehin, a member of the
Federal Road Safety Corps (FRSC). The
harrowing attack in which Mr. Enikuemehin
lost an eye took place on August 14, 2016.
Since the assault, the victim and his family
have solely borne the financial burden of Mr.
Enikuemehin’s medical treatment.
Meanwhile, Major General Isidore Edet,
the General Commanding 81 Division, said
through the division’s assistant director of
Information, that the board of inquiry
investigating the assault would meet for
three weeks. The military statement did not
offer any financial help for the victim’s
treatment.
Mr. Enikuemehin has undergone a series of
treatments, and he is scheduled for
major surgery at the Lagos State University
Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) on Friday,
August 19, 2016.
The doctors at the hospital have told the
victim that one of his eyes has been totally
damaged, but the medical team has also
pledged to try to salvage the second eye.
In one of the latest twists, a military source
claimed that one of the soldiers who took
part in the assault on Mr. Enikuemehin was
stabbed, and is currently receiving treatment
at LASUTH. However, an anonymous police
source told SaharaReporters that no soldier
was stabbed at the scene of the assault.
The police account was corroborated by
another source who was present when
two military police officers,
Captains Akinyemi and Mbakwe, visited
LASUTH to see a stabbed soldier. The source
revealed that the stabbed soldier told the
mobile policemen that he was not at the
scene of the assault, but that he
was ambushed by three men and stabbed on
his way to visit a relative.
The Nigerian Army said some soldiers
arrested by the police during the bloody
melee were handed over to the military
on Tuesday.
However, SaharaReporters learned that it was
only Private Ihama who was seized by the
residents and handed over to police officers
at Adekunle police station. Our sources
revealed that Private Ihama was on Monday
released to Captain Okolo.
A military source stated that eight of the
soldiers at the scene of the savage assault
were being held in military custody as
investigators seek to identify others who
participated in the violent acts. Victims and
eyewitnesses at the scene of the assault told
our correspondent that nineteen soldiers took
part in the assault. Mr. Enikuemehin’s
relatives told SaharaReporters that some
military officers visited the victim and asked
him several questions regarding the assault.
At the scene of the melee, some eyewitnesses
told our correspondent that the soldier who
attacked three residents and punctured Mr.
Enikuemehin’s eye was a friend of three
brothers who reside in the area. The relatives
were identified as Efenus Idowu Yayagbene,
Waribi Yayagbene, and Tobue Yayagbene.
The eyewitnesses said Waribi Yayagbene
owns a beer parlor frequented by soldiers.
They added that the bar owner’s brothers,
Efenus and Tobu, are military recruits who
joined in the attack on Enikuemehin.
Several eyewitnesses stated that the assault
was began when one of the soldiers at the
bar demanded that a man identified simply
as David should produce camouflage shorts
he had worn about three weeks ago. Speaking
to our correspondent, David said he told the
soldier that he no longer owned the
camouflage shorts, but the soldier was
adamant that he should bring it.
“They started beating me because I could not
give them the knickers [shorts],” said David,
adding that the pair of shorts was not even a
military uniform, but was black and
white camouflage.
The chairman of the Community
Development Association (CDA),
Taye Ikuejamoye, told our correspondent that
soldiers frequently beat up innocent civilians
in the community.
A police officer at Adekunle Police station
corroborated the claim. “Many times, we
received reports of soldiers beating up boys
in the area. With this latest one, may be the
military authorities will punish the soldiers
involved. At least the community will know
rest a little,” said the police officer.
The officer, however, said he was afraid that
the military might shield the culprits who
attacked civilians on August 14. He said the
police acted wisely in releasing the main
culprit to military authorities, adding that, if
they had decided to keep him, soldiers might
have descended on the police station in a
wrecking rage. He pointed to what happened
to Area C police station when soldiers burnt
down the station in a clash with the police.
Source sahara reporters
0 comments: