Segun Atanda/
Almost three years after going through water and fire to safeguard his officers and police station that came under attack from EndSARS protesters in October 2020, Chief Superintendent of Police (CSP) Eburuaja Nwachukwu has finally been rewarded with a higher rank for his courage and valour.
The authorities have just released Nwachukwu’s promotion to Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) following the recommendation of the Police Service Commission (PSC).
Nwachukwu who is the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) at Shasha, in Lagos, was the DPO at Elemoro Police Station when thousands of hoodlums invaded and scorched his base and Area ‘J’ Headquarters at Elesekan on October 21, 2020.
Loaded in buses and trucks, the protesters, armed with dangerous weapons, jumped over barricades and launched missile attacks with stones, bottles, and firecrackers on the station.
Some of them reportedly fired gunshots as they made efforts to break through the locked gate.
Obeying the rules of engagement, Nwachukwu and his men tactically repelled the invaders with teargas and warning shots. They ensured there was no casualty as the protesters were pushed to the sides of the road leading to Otunla inward Ajah and Gbogije inward Epe with the aid of an armoured personnel carrier that was marooned at the station due to several roadblocks mounted by the mob along Ibeju-Lekki Expressway.
The battle lasted all day with Nwachukwu sustaining a shrapnel injury in his leg.
As the smoke shells and ammunition were dwindling, Nwachukwu and his men retreated into the forest, after making distress calls to the authorities at the Lagos State police headquarters in Ikeja.
The mob mobilized reinforcement from neighbouring communities, and the station was eventually subdued, vandalized, and razed. Many policemen were injured, but no life was lost.
Nwachukwu and his men were pushed into the forest where they stayed without food and water for three days before they were rescued by the Area J Commander, ACP Gbolahan Olugbemi, who was still licking his own wounds after a car crushed his leg, offices at his base were looted, glass windows shattered, and two generating sets vandalized.
He embarked on the mission with five patrol vehicles at about 4 pm on October 23.
The authorities had promised to reward officers who suffered during the bloody protests. But Nwachukwu’s name was missing when the reward came in form of promotions in 2021.
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