I was bundled to the police station, says Bolt driver, Stephen Abuwatseye
Stephen Abuwatseye, the Bolt driver who was allegedly assaulted by lawmaker Hon. Alex Ikwechegh, has revealed that he was forcibly taken to the police station by Nigerian police officers.
According to Abuwatseye, after a video of the incident went viral, the lawmaker called police operatives who then bundled him into a car and drove him to the station.
In a video shared with Vanguard, Abuwatseye recounted his ordeal to social media personality Martins Otse, also known as VeryDarkMan. He stated that the police twisted the narrative against him, accusing him of fighting the lawmaker.
He explained, “After the video, he called some police officers. I don’t know which division they were from, but they bundled me into their vehicle. I wanted to drive my own car, but they said no. Two officers sat beside me while I was in the middle as they drove me to the station.
“When we arrived, they instructed me to go inside. I had calls coming in, but they wouldn’t let me answer them. They asked what happened but didn’t question me directly; instead, they spoke to people who weren’t present. The police quickly claimed that I had gone to the honorable house and fought with him.
“At that time, I hadn’t shown anyone the video I made. Even the security personnel who came as a witness hadn’t seen the video yet. They referred us to the crime unit. When we got there, the officer asked what happened. Initially, I didn’t explain, but he insisted he needed to hear both sides of the story.
“When they claimed I fought him, the officer said they should call the lawmaker. His security guard, who was there as a witness, then called the honorable, and they passed the phone to the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) in charge of the case. The IPO spoke to him on the phone and then left the office to conduct an investigation at the honorable’s house.
“The IPO left me at the station while he went to the honorable’s house. I waited in the canter for over two hours, although I wasn’t officially detained. When he returned, he asked why I recorded the incident.
“I told him that if there’s a law against recording someone who threatens me, then I’m unaware of it. I explained that the honorable’s actions were becoming a threat to me, so I needed to gather evidence. At that point, the honorable was not at the station with me.
“They gave me a form to fill out to write my statement about what happened. While I was writing, the honorable arrived. When he came in, he started shouting and calling me names. I remained silent as he referred to me as a poor man and accused me of being prideful.
“I left the station shortly after 3 PM. My car is still at the station, and the honorable was not detained.”
Abuwatseye also described the events leading up to the recording of the video, stating, “Before the video, I received a request from Bolt. I was about to close for the night because I needed to resume work the next morning. Around 9:10 PM, I received a request to go to Maitama. I thought it was a normal request.
The passenger said I was picking up something at a garden, and although I didn’t know the name, she described the location to me. I drove there, and a girl handed me a package, saying it contained snails.
“When I arrived at the man’s house, I called him, saying, ‘Oga, I’m at your gate.’ He instructed me to give the package to the security man. The security man directed me to the house, and as I approached, I called the man again. He said he wasn’t there, claiming that if I were there, he would see me. I parked beside a Camry and noticed him seated a few meters from my car. I greeted him, but he didn’t respond. I greeted again, saying, ‘Good evening, sir,’ but still received no reply, leading me to assume he wasn’t the person I was supposed to deliver the package to.
“Since he didn’t answer, I decided to call the person who ordered the package. When I dialed the number, it rang, and the next thing I heard was, ‘Are you stupid? Bring my stuff to me.’ I was unhappy with how he spoke to me because I was being professional. I politely told him that I wasn’t supposed to deliver the package to him; he was supposed to come and get it himself. That was the only thing that made him angry.”
