Confusion as pedestrians find unconscious policeman by roadside

Pedestrians around Stadium bus stop, Surulere, Lagos on Thursday morning walked out to find a policeman lying unconsciously behind a flower garden.

PUNCH Metro learnt that the policeman, who was in uniform and boots, was observed in the helpless state at about 6.30am.

Our correspondent gathered that the officer, whose names had yet to be known, might have been by the roadside all night as he looked frail and foamed in the mouth.

It was said that passersby, who expressed shock at the sight, could not move near him for fear of being implicated.

While some wondered whether he was attacked by some hoodlums and dumped at the place, others felt he was drunk and had yet to recover from the effects.

However, one of the eyewitnesses was said to have reported the incident at the Surulere Police Station.

When our correspondent arrived at the scene at about 9am, the policeman had been evacuated from the garden by his colleagues.

Meanwhile, a keeper of the garden and also an eyewitness, who preferred anonymity, said they were all shocked at the sight as they initially felt the cop had been killed and dumped at the location.

He said, “That was the thought that initially came to mind. But we discovered he was not dead. His body was moving slightly, but he also foamed at the mouth. He was not attacked as his body didn’t show such signs. It looked to me that he had fallen sick and could not go home.

“However, no one could move near him as we didn’t know the station he was attached to, his name or relatives. But someone called the emergency line, and another person went to the Surulere Police Station to make a report. Later, they came to take him away.”

When our correspondent got to the Surulere Police Station, an officer noted that the policeman had been taken away to a hospital for treatment.

When contacted for comments, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, said the policeman, who was attached to the Surulere Police Division, was now in a stable condition.

He said, “Yes, the policeman was discovered at the junction in that condition. He was not involved in any accident. He is an officer attached to the Surulere Police Division. Meanwhile, the information received at the moment says he is now in a stable condition.”