LAGOS — A chilling encounter in the early hours of Wednesday, February 18, 2026, has once again thrown the spotlight on the crumbling discipline within the Nigeria Police Force. A Lagos motorist is crying out for justice after a reportedly inebriated police officer allegedly smashed his car with a stone and physically assaulted him near the Fagba Railway crossing.
The victim, who was lucky to escape with his life, narrated a harrowing ordeal that began around 4:30 AM while he was driving through the Agege-Fagba axis—a stretch notorious for early-morning police “shakedowns.”
The 4:30 AM Ambush
According to the motorist, he encountered a team of four officers who had already intercepted three other vehicles on the railway tracks. Though they did not signal for him to stop, what followed was an act of “pure, unprovoked malice.”
“I had already driven past them when I suddenly heard a loud noise at the back of my car,” the victim recounted, his voice still shaking with emotion in a viral social media post. “One of the officers simply picked up a heavy stone from the ground and hurled it at my car, shattering my rear chrome.”
“He Smelled of Alcohol”
The situation turned from property damage to physical danger when the driver stepped out of his vehicle to demand an explanation. He alleged that the officer responsible was visibly intoxicated, reeking of alcohol, and lacked any semblance of professional decorum.
“I asked him why he would do that as a professional police officer. Instead of responding calmly, he became aggressive and started fighting me,” the man cried out. “How can an armed man be this drunk on duty? He was ready to kill me over a question.”
“Armed and Dangerous” — Nigerians Blast Police Impunity
As the story ripped through social media, Nigerians—particularly those living in the Fagba and Abule-Egba areas—unleashed a torrent of criticism against the Lagos State Police Command. For many, the “drunk-on-duty” culture is a ticking time bomb that the authorities have refused to defuse.
- “Checkpoints or Toll Gates?”: “Why are they even on the railway at 4:30 AM? It’s not about security; it’s about collecting ‘tax’ from early-morning commuters,” remarked one popular analyst on X (formerly Twitter). “When they don’t get a car to stop, they resort to violence. It’s a disgrace.”
- “The Discipline Gap”: Critics blasted the Inspector General of Police, arguing that “Police Reform” has remained a mere slogan. “An armed man who is drunk is a potential murderer. If that stone had hit the glass and caused an accident, they would have claimed he was ‘resisting arrest,'” a resident of Fagba lamented.
- “No Accountability”:Â Many Nigerians expressed deep skepticism that the victim would get justice. “The Lagos CP will probably say the officer was ‘acting on a tip-off.’ This is why Nigerians are more afraid of the police than the robbers they are supposed to catch,” another post read.
Lagos Command Under Pressure
While the Police Complaint Response Unit (CRU) has been tagged in several posts regarding the incident, an official statement from the Lagos PPRO is still being awaited as of Wednesday morning.
However, sources within the command indicate that the “Railway Beat” team for that shift is being identified for an internal orderly room trial. For the victim, the broken chrome is the least of his worries—it is the trauma of being assaulted by the very people paid to protect him.
