After being shot by a police officer at a checkpoint on Lagos’ Ketu-Epe-Ikorodu Road, a commercial truck driver is fighting to save his leg.
On June 12, 2026, officials from the Ketu-Ereyun Divisional Police Station stopped the victim, Peter Francis, while he was driving home from work.
Francis cooperated after authorities told him to turn on the interior light in his car, according to his attorney Olatunji Ajayi, who talked with PUNCH Online on Saturday.
He mentioned that a bribe of ₦500 was purportedly sought by an officer named Ibrahim, but Francis clarified that he had used the money that was left on the back seat of the Toyota Corolla for meals.
One of the team members, a police officer named Ibrahim, opened fire on the car carrying Mr. Peter Francis and his companion without any prior warning. Mr. Peter Francis was severely injured and in great pain after one of the bullets hit his leg, according to the attorney.
He added that the injured driver was left alone when the “officers fled the scene immediately after realising Francis had been hit.”
According to reports, military forces from the Lagos State Food and Logistics Hub were drawn to the gunfire and “pursued the fleeing officers to their nearby police station, brought them back to the scene and directed them to take the victim to the hospital.”
He claims that before Francis was taken to the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Yaba, where he underwent emergency surgery, he was rejected by two hospitals.
PPRO Responds
In the meantime, our correspondent spoke with Abimbola Adebisi, the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, over the phone on Saturday.
The PPRO acknowledged the shooting, but noted that the victim’s and his attorney’s version is substantially different from the official police account.
She stated, “The officers involved have been detained for further questioning.”
“I cannot confirm that now but will do on Monday,” she responded when asked about a meeting between the victim’s attorney and Lagos State Commissioner of Police Fatai Tijani, as well as a petition filed on the subject.
DPO Responds
CSP Kalu Chijioke, the Divisional Police Officer of the Ketu-Ereyun Divisional Police Station, refuted the lawyer’s testimony over the phone, stating that the victim is a criminal suspect.
Due to a nearby government school, our officers were on stop and search duty on June 12 at approximately 21.10 hours. We are near the Lagos-Ogun boundary.
This driver arrived with a female passenger in the driver’s seat of a Camry (Muscle). Additionally, ASP Oguniyi, the senior officer in charge of the team, stated that the car was halted and he obeyed.
According to the DPO, “when he was approached, he sped off, knocking down Oguniyi, brushing another, and was rushing towards Corporal Tijani Ibrahim to ram him down, using the vehicle as a weapon, before the latter shot.”
The DPO claims that Francis was hit in the bottom part of his knee by a bullet that Corporal Ibrahim fired at the speeding vehicle.
According to the DPO’s report, “this is a case of attempted murder and assault of a police officer in his line of duty and unlawful possession of substances suspected to be illicit drugs.”
CSP Kalu insisted that “that was when the soldiers accosted them to ask if our officers needed help—which was politely rejected—noting that the situation was immediately contained and that medical attention was provided to the victim,” refuting reports that his men had left the area.
The DPO also attested to the fact that Francis was subsequently brought to two hospitals, both of which turned him away until his involvement led to his eventual acceptance at the military hospital.
He went on to describe the subsequent events, which continued until Friday, while police battled to obtain the victim’s formal statement and version of what happened.
“The documents are present. The first hospital declined to admit him after he was recommended to another. The victim’s life came first, so I called the military hospital where he was subsequently operated on. In fact, we used our police car when we couldn’t find an ambulance.
He was admitted to the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Yaba, where he had surgery. I gave blood and even paid for his therapy after the required tests were completed.
“Every attempt to get the victim and the woman to provide personal statements following treatment has been unsuccessful as we speak
Additionally, we spoke with the attorney who came here and advised him to provide his client a statement form to complete now that he has received medical attention and the incident is still fresh in his memory, but he refused.
The DPO said, “That is not true,” in response to our correspondent’s questions about whether the officers were acting on specific intelligence that led them to identify the victim as a suspect, whether he had a criminal record, or whether he had previously been invited by the police for questioning. The correspondent also brought up the allegation that the police had asked the victim to come to the station from his hospital bed in order to write a statement. I gave blood, helped get him admitted to that hospital, and much more.
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