Ajah Police Officers Seen Taking Alcohol While on Duty

Police officers assigned to the Ajiwe Police Division in Ajah, Lagos State, have been charged for consistently being drunk while on duty and conducting patrols.

The police station got attention online as a result of the recent murder of a pregnant lawyer called Bolanle Raheem by station-affiliated Assistant Superintendent of Police Drambi Vandi.

Another resident, Gafaru Buraimoh, who was heading to get gasoline, was also shot and killed by Imeh Johnson, an inspector working for the same division.

Punch claims that following closer inspection, several of them were seen to be heavily armed and imbibing booze from sachets. According to the magazine, one of the cops who was seated next to a barbershop linked to a building next to the station was often spotted with a glass cup of beer in his hand.

It was also said that a police officer was purportedly spotted drinking from a can while hiding beneath a shed next to the station and wearing a weapon around his waist.

It was also claimed that although some of the sellers near the police station reportedly put certain alcoholic beverages within the reach of the officers, other cops avoided inquisitive eyes by traveling a distance to support other merchants.

A Punch journalist observed them closely for more than an hour before reporting that a fair-looking cop called for him to come. He was obviously intoxicated since his physique reeked of booze when you were close to him.

He allegedly spoke incoherently and asked the journalist for N200. He collected the cash after receiving it, went to a vendor, purchased a sachet of alcohol, and immediately downed it.

Additionally, it was learned that the police officers reportedly made frequent trips to several alcohol merchants who were located behind a car park below the Ajah Bridge, where Raheem was fatally shot.

Soliu Adekanmbi, a local, said to the newspaper that certain police personnel are notorious for their blatant alcohol consumption.

The cops carry out their duties as they see fit, and nobody checks them, he said. It seems that no one is able to challenge them. While on duty, the majority of them always have alcohol packets with them. They consume them while wearing uniforms here under the bridge. Everyone is aware of it, but no one is able to speak out because of the police authority.