The death of a 17-year-old boy, Bidemi, alleged to have fallen into a canal while fleeing from police brutality in Lagos has sparked public outrage.
Bidemi allegedly met his untimely death on October 17, at the Federal Bus Stop, Ipaja, Ayobo area of Lagos State.
The incident which happened barely three days to the fourth anniversary of the #EndSARS violence of October 2020 has further heightened calls for police reforms among Nigerians.
Information available on social media alleged that Bidemi was stopped by police officers in mufti, who accused him of being a “Yahoo boy” due to his tattoos.
Despite Bidemi’s insistence that he was not a “Yahoo boy,” the police allegedly brutalised him, cocked their guns, and chased him.
In a desperate bid to escape, Bidemi ran and fell into the canal. His body was later recovered and taken to a nearby hospital, where he was diagnosed with several head injuries and placed on oxygen.
Sadly, Bidemi succumbed to his injuries and was pronounced dead on Friday.
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Eyewitnesses claimed that the policemen seeing that the victim had fallen into the canal, took his money and his footwear and fled the scene when people started raising alarm.
Two of the policemen were said to have been identified and detained at the Area M headquarters in Idimu.
Netizens who condemned the incident appealed to the government and police high command to ensure justice for the deceased.
Efforts to get a reaction from the Lagos Police Command were not successful at the time of this report.