Family members and friends of Joseph Martin, a man allegedly shot on the leg by a mobile police officer, Oludare Ariyo, on October 19, 2013, complained yesterday that he has been abandoned at the Nigerian Air Force Hospital along Airport road Abuja without proper arrangement for treatment.
The man, popularly called Biggy, was said to have intervened in a misunderstanding between the police officer and a sales girl over payment for a bottle of beer at Kpana village Jabi, Abuja.
The salesgirl identified as Joy John, said she served a bottle of beer to the officer, who was in full uniform, but he refused to pay for it. As argument ensued over the non-payment, Martin (Biggy) tried to intervene but the ‘drunk’ police officer created a scene by slapping him. The officer broke loose from those restraining him, brought out his rifle and shot Biggy on the leg.
The police officer is said to be attached to a construction company.
Newsmen learnt that after the shooting, a mob gathered around the place and was on the verge of attacking the officer but was later rescued by a police patrol team.
Friends of Biggy were seen moving around Kpana village at Utako yesterday begging for funds to treat his injured leg.
Biggy said from his hospital bed that he was unable to pay for his treatment and the bullet in his leg has not been removed.
He complained that the police only paid for some drugs after he was admitted and gave him N20,000, adding that he was taken to five hospitals within Abuja by officers of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command before he was admitted at the Air force Hospital.
Martins said he has not been able to pay the N450,000 charged by the hospital to remove the bullet lodged in his leg.
He said the construction site where he works as a supervisor has suspended work, adding that his aged father cannot afford the hospital bill either.
When contacted, FCT Police Commissioner, Olufemi Ogunbayode, said the police officer, who committed the crime has been detained and would most likely be dismissed from the force for his crime.
He explained that officers and men from the police command contributed N150,000 for the victim, adding that the police cannot take responsibility for the wrongdoing of a badly behaved police officer.