A man on Instagram Anthony Abraham, has narrated his ordeal in the hands of operatives of the Federal Special Anti Robbery Squad as they battered him on Tuesday in Lagos and thereafter asked him to apologise to them for making them think he is an internet fraudster, popularly called ‘Yahoo Yahoo’ boys.
Abraham took to his Instagram page on Wednesday to share his experience as well as pictures of the injury he sustained as a result of the beating.
He said the officers accosted him on Tuesday while he was on his way to Alagbole, a suburb in Ogun State, from Berger in Lagos.
See his caption below:
“I don’t know what I did to deserve the kind of beating I received from SARS officials yesterday.
“I was on a bike going to Alagbole from Berger when they stopped me and asked me to come down from the bike which I did. Immediately, they told me to enter their van and I asked them why and that was it, rain of slaps landed on my face. They bundled me and threw me inside the Siena van. Inside the van, they started beating me, I tried to block the slaps but one of them held my hand so that my face will be open to receive the slaps. They beat me as if I was a criminal before asking me what I do for a living. I told them that I am a blogger and also an actor/entertainer.
“The beating continued again. Seriously, I was scared for my life, I began to doubt if they were truly SARS officials or they are kidnappers or ritualists. A lot of thoughts were running through my mind. By now we were approaching Ojodu going towards Ogba. After all the beating, one of them then searched my phone and saw truly that I was a blogger, he saw my blog and also saw my skit videos this was after beating me o. He searched my pocket and saw some money. One of them said I should come down but the other one said I should bring the money on me, I refused and he then slapped me again and again and then again. I told them I wanted to use the money and he said he saw another one thousand Naira in my pocket while searching me.
I told him that was my T-fare. He said that he will take me to the station that why am I wearing ripped jeans. Still, I refused to give him the money before they pushed me out of the vehicle after one of them said that I am a blogger that they should let me go before I start another #ENDSARS campaign. They also forced me to apologise to them for making them think I was a yahoo boy which I did. I still can’t believe that this happened to me in my own country.
We are no longer safe in this country.
Those who are supposed to protect us are actually killing us.
We need to #ENDSARS with immediate effect because we really can’t see the effect of SARS in our society. SARS has done more harm than good.
This is a true life story and it was not sugarcoated. It happened to me yesterday,” Abraham concluded.