Eye witness story: How security men nearly killed James David

Emdee David tells a story of how security men assaulted his brother, James David with a machete in the early hours of Monday March 31st in their neighbourhood in Isolo, Lagos. Find the story below..

The horror and terror that befell me, my brother and the entire Franzaki Street in Bucknor Estate will forever leave us with physical, mental, and emotional indelible marks. The incidence happened on Sunday/Monday, 30^th to 31^st of March 2014. I was helpless as two untrained street security guards machete my brother, James David, with the intent to kill him.

A lot of things happened, but I will rather talk on, or start from where I got involved. That night, that should be around to 12 midnight or so, I was in my bedroom when all of a sudden, someone was scratching the floor with machete and later hitting my window and door with the same machete. Continue...

Then the person spoke….. “Oga, come now now o, if not, your brother will be a dead man.” Then he left immediately. I recognized the voice. It was that of one of the Security guys at the street gate. I was wondering what could have happened. (one of my neigbhours said she heard it, and while he was going out of our house, he said, I know he won’t come out.)

I rushed out but did not see the guy. I went outside our house gate, he wasn’t there, so I decided to go towards the street gate. As I approached, I heard noises. I ran to them and what I saw shocked me. The two security men were brutally assaulting James David with a machete and a cutlass. His nose was already sliced into two and blood was on his face. Then his wrists had been badly cut. I was terrified and I started shouting on them. “What’s the matter….couldn’t you have waited for me? Then one of them, the tall one who I later learnt is called Emmanuel Oliseh, approached me with his cutlass and asked me to go back or he will cut me to pieces. I ran backward, but I now saw the shorter one, Frank Oliseh, still going after my brother with his big machete as James tried to move away.

Then Emmanuel, the tall one who came after me joined his brother again and was shouting “kugbuoya…kugbuoya.” I understand Igbo language and what that meant. He was saying, “’kill him’ (with that machete”). The short security man was now “macheting” James David on the head and on the neck. James was already weak and falling near a car that was packed near there. The car had been there for about three weeks, I guess faulty. I screamed for these guys to stop, but they refused. Then I rushed in-between them and carried my brother and started walking fast away from them. They still came after us, wielding their weapons towards my neck. I managed to dodge and James fell from my hand. I screamed again for the residence to come out, but no one came to  help. Then the two female wards living with me, Binta and Faith, were approaching, the security guys went after them and told them to go back if they don’t want to die. So they ran. 

They left us for a while and were ranting. They were saying, “this street people never know us o…James say we no be security people abi?....” and they said many things about blood flowing. So I knew there was trouble. One house guard, a Mallam, heard our voices and tried to open the gate….I didn’t know what later happened but I later heard they chased him back.

I managed to lift my brother up, carrying him towards a nearby hospital after our own house on the street, then I heard the voices of one of the security guy, Frank. We fell on the ground, and I ran away, ran into our compound and alerted my neighbours. Three men came out, Alhaji Sallami, Mr Ben and Daddy Eni. Then Mr. Ben’s brother joined later. We all went to pick James again to that hospital. Later Binta and Faith came out too and stayed with James while we went to alert the hospital. We knocked very hard but the hospital didn’t open. Then my sisters, Binta and Faith, started screaming and running after us. We now saw the mad security guy, Frank coming after them. The men tried to talk to them but he told them they will kill them too. He started chasing us, everybody with the deadly weapon. Two guys from the house before ours came out too and the wielded the machete at them. As we were running towards our house, Emmanuel, the second security guy blocked us. We were now in their middle. 

They chased everybody, saying they must kill, that we don’t know them. Mr. Felix, who lives nearby came out thinking he could stop them, but they almost cut his neck. He ran, we all scattered, while James was lying down soaked in his blood. He was bleeding seriously. I started screaming…Franzaki People, come out o, your security men want to kill people…. I did that many times and I am sure many residents heard me. Then everybody ran sideways. 

I hid in an uncompleted building and started making calls. I called a former colleague living in Estate, Mr Jacobs. I called a pastor friend, Pastor David Aya of ECWA Church, who called a few people for rescue. I called a Police woman I have her number at Okota police station. She couldn’t remember me but I told her what was going on, but she cut the phone. I called Ibrahim, who is a CSO in one Custom Bonded Terminal and he called another Police officer, Filibus, who said he has alerted the police and they are signaling themselves to get RRS. But we saw no police that night. 

In desperation, and as it was threatening to rain, I started sending text messages. I sent to Ahaoma Kanu, a journalist, Barrister Monday Ubani, Chairman of Ikeja Nigerian Bar Association, YAW of Wazobia FM. then I copied to Zainab, the police woman I earlier called. Pastor David, Mr. Kanu, and Ibrahim were all calling back to know the situation. But there was no police to our rescue. Where I hid I could still hear the wild security guys telling some people to lie down. Then, one man, Mr Bello opened his window from upstairs and noticed me in the uncompleted building close to his building. He asked me who I was, I told him I am James’ brother and that James has been badly wounded, that I need to take check if he is not dead so I can take him to the hospital. Then Mr. Bello rushed out with his car key, took his car out. Then the mad security men came out with their weapons and ordered him to go back or else they will kill him. He told them who he is but they refused to hear or listen. His wife prevailed on him to return to the house. 

When he got back to the house, he asked me to jump the fence and cross over to his house which was more secured. I did, and from then he started making calls to other security men. Not long after then, security men from other places came. They subdued the blood thirsty Frank and Emmanuel Oliseh, who I later learnt are of the same parents. Emmanuel ran away immediately but Frank was held firm.

We later found James in the bush of the plot next to ours, almost lifeless. Mr. Bello offered to take us to the hospital where James received urgent medical attention and he survived. The doctors said he’d lost much blood and would need blood transfusion. Two security guys from the other street were with us and guarded Frank from running away. Later, Emmanuel was found on the street and also driven to Ejigbo police station.

Now, I can’t say what came over these security guys. They know James very well and his house and that he is my brother. He was not an intruder, a thief or a trouble maker. He is a painter and well known in the whole of Bucknor Estate. 

But it was much later I heard a lot of things about them. They had threatened to shed blood because they were been owed two months’ salary.  I learnt the Street Association Chairman told them to stop working if they planned any kind of trouble on the street. But they didn’t. Some residents had complained that Frank and his brother have harassed them. A barber on the street, I learnt later, had complained that these two mad Frank and Emmanuel held him some days ago and beat him with their cutlass. Some women also complained about them. And I started to wonder, why should such bastards be retained? 

I suspect that Frank and Emmanuel must be up to something apart from security work. They attacked James David with the aim of killing, because all the machete cuts are on the neck, his face, and his head. The deep cuts on the wrists and arms are as a result of his trying to defend his head. The car parked where I met them assaulting my brother was stained with blood and I saw it on Monday when I came home briefly from the hospital. My phones’ and camera batteries were down so I couldn’t take pictures, and I really had to focus on keeping James alive in the hospital. I said I would come back to do that but by Tuesday, I learnt the blood had been washed off. By Wednessday, the car was towed away. But thank God, many people saw the blood on the car and learnt it was blood from James’ body when he was been brutally attacked by the security men employed by the street Association.

My sisters also said they heard him saying it is only one person they need, so someone should volunteer and lie down, then others will be free.

Right now, Frank and Emmanuel are locked up at Ejigbo Police Station, and James is still receiving medical attention, very much alive, contrary to the rumour going round in some quarters that he is dead. I will keep you all posted on this matter, as others tell their own side of the story.