My First Police Experience — I was 16

I was 16, my first year in Uni. I was on a school break and decided one morning to spend the whole day at my friend’s house playing video games. I geared up, picked up my laptop, picked up my gamepad and headed to my friend’s house. Halfway through my journey, I was approached by some men in casual outfits wielding weapons (guns). Approached me and asked me to identify myself, I returned the favour by asking them to identify themself. Next thing was insults, shoving and pushing here and there. Are you mad, who are you? Your papa dey craze? Na us you dey follow talk, E no go better for you. All of this ended with my friend enter the bus. I was scared to death, nearly piss my pant. Gun to my head, I slowly entered the bus with them. I was 16.

Shaking so bad on the bus, they asked for my phone, asked me to unlock it and started checking everything in it. I had yahoo messenger and some nude photos on my photo. Next thing they said, Na one of them, you go die today. What are you doing with yahoo messenger, na all these photos you dey send to your maga abi. We don catch you today. Your own don be. You go hear am today. They turned off my phone and drove off. I was on the bus all day, with these same guys going through different places in Lagos adding more people into the bus and releasing people that were able to pay the sum of money they requested. I was quiet all through the bus drive because I was not sure if anything I said could be my last word. This happened till like 7 pm, then they drove into a police station and locked me up in a cell with threats saying ‘na where you go die be this, you no wan confess abi. I was crying because I didn’t know what to do. It felt like I was going to die and no one will know about it. I was 16

After a while someone saw me crying in the cell and asked what happened, I explained what happened, he took me out wiped my tears and asked me to call someone. I immediately called my brother and told them where I was. They had been sick worried. I have not been reachable, they have been looking all over for me. They were worried. At the point my mum was sick worried too, she was on her way from work when they told her they could not find me. Imagine how long the journey was for her. My brother and my aunt immediately came to the station. They saw me and they were relieved. The guys that arrested said to them that I was a yahoo boy, asked them to explain why I had nude photos on my phone. My brother already angry and scared explained with his voice high why a 16-year-old should not have those on his phone, immediately someone put a gun in his mouth. I nearly died. I was afraid to die, but I was more scared to lose my brother especially because he was fighting for me. My aunt who immediately knew what could happen went down on her knees, begged them and they took the gun out. She took them to one corner pleaded and ask what they wanted. I am not sure what she paid them, but it was enough to get the cuffs off my hand which had been there all day. I was 16.

On my way out of the police station, there was a woman among the people who took me hostage, she slowly walked to my aunt and us and said I quote ‘Ah, this your boy na good boy o, na gentle boy, E no follow us fight, E no follow argue, Him wife go enjoy am. Make E no change’. I started crying all over again because if you knew I was good, why did you take me through all those pains. We went out of the station, got home and my mum had almost lost it. Imagine her coming back from work and hearing her son was missing and in another chain of events ‘maybe dead’. This is my first out of many police experience.

Till this day, a police checkpoint reminds me of that day. I relive it anytime I see a blue danfo. I relive it anytime I see a sienna with casual weapon-wielding men.

But in all honesty, I am lucky. So many people have died this way, so many people are still missing. This is why I fight, this is why I come out every day. This is my story. I was only 16