The governorship aspirant under the platform of Labour Party (LP) in the Edo 2024 election, Stephen Osemwegie has condemned a viral video which shows a police car running over a handcuffed man in the Ekpoma area of the State.

Osemwegie, who offered to foot the medical bill of the victim identified as Success Ehimare, emphatically stated “nobody deserves this.”

In the 19-second viral video, handcuffed Ehimare was seen lying on a road while a police vehicle – a Sienna car – ran over him.

People screamed for the officers to stop while the handcuffed man was powerless beneath the vehicle.

The video did not show how many officers were involved in the act.

Immediately the car ran over the man; the angry crowd surged towards it. The driver stopped, opened the car door and fled the scene.

Reacting, Osemwegie’s team visited the victim at Irrua Specialist Hospital with “some cash donation to support his ongoing treatment”.

“He (the victim) recounted his ordeal, stating that his vehicle was pulled over, wrongly accused of not having papers, his aged mother was assaulted and was bleeding from her nose due to a slap by the officer, meanwhile, this victim’s father was a retired Police Officer.

“He approached the officer to protest the assault on his mother and he was handcuffed and later ran over by the police car. This case must not end here. Justice has to be served and be seen to be served. Our fellow citizens deserve dignity and respect from those in authority,” Osemwegie told newsmen on Friday.

When asked if his move was politically motivated, Osemwegie said; “What is important to me is that a brother was brutally hurt and I decided to lend a helping hand, and he got the help he needed.

“We are Edolites, it is in our culture to help people around us and speak up against injustice against anyone amongst us, that is the true spirit of Edo people,” he said.

He, therefore, promised to tackle issue of police brutality if allowed to serve the people of the State come 2024.

(Nigerian Tribune)

Update news