A commercial truck driver is fighting to save his leg after he was shot by a police officer during a bribe dispute at a checkpoint along Ketu-Epe-Ikorodu Road in Lagos on June 12, 2026. The victim, Peter Francis, was returning home from work when officers attached to the Ketu-Ereyun Divisional Police Station stopped his Toyota Corolla.
According to his lawyer, Olatunji Ajayi, Francis complied when officers told him to switch on his vehicle’s interior light. An officer identified as Corporal Ibrahim allegedly demanded a ₦500 bribe.
Francis said he had spent his last cash on food, which was on the back seat. The lawyer alleged that Ibrahim opened fire without provocation, striking Francis in the leg and causing severe injuries. He said the officers fled the scene immediately after realising Francis had been hit.
Military personnel attached to the Lagos State Food and Logistics Hub reportedly pursued the officers to their station, brought them back, and ordered them to take the victim to hospital. Francis was allegedly rejected by two hospitals before he was admitted to the 68 Nigerian Army Reference Hospital in Yaba for emergency surgery.
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The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, Abimbola Adebisi, confirmed the shooting but said the official police version differs from the victim’s account. She stated that the officers involved have been detained for questioning. When asked about a meeting between the lawyer and Lagos Commissioner of Police Fatai Tijani, she said she would confirm on Monday.
The Divisional Police Officer of Ketu-Ereyun, CSP Kalu Chijioke, gave a different account. He said officers were on stop-and-search duty when Francis sped off after being stopped, knocking down an officer and driving toward another.
He claimed Corporal Ibrahim fired at the moving vehicle because Francis was using it as a weapon. The DPO described it as attempted murder, assault of an officer, and unlawful possession of suspected illicit drugs.
He denied that officers fled, saying they tried to get medical help while Francis’s colleagues threatened to burn the station. He added that he facilitated Francis’s admission, donated blood, and transferred ₦400,000 for treatment.
Francis’s lawyer disputed the DPO’s claims, insisting his client is not a criminal suspect and had documents proving his delivery assignment. He said doctors recommend reconstructive plastic surgery for damaged blood vessels, with ₦1,126,600 in medical bills already incurred and an estimated ₦10 million needed for corrective surgery. The total cost is over ₦11.1 million.
The lawyer acknowledged the DPO’s visit, blood donation, and ₦400,000 transfer on June 15, 2026, but said the gesture does not absolve the Nigeria Police Force of responsibility. He called on the police to cover all medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, and compensation for the physical, emotional and financial trauma suffered by Francis.
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