When Sunday Erhabor, a police officer of the Lagos command and Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) was attacked, harassed and bullied by an erring driver taking “one way”, never did he know that the terrifying moment with would shoot him into the limelight and of course, fetch him praise and award.
The 53-year-old celebrated policeman was on duty with his subordinates at Four Point by Sheraton Hotel, Oniru on Saturday, April 17, when a man identified as Victor Ebhomenyen, 33, drove against the traffic. Sunday Erhabor became a hero online for his professionalism in the face of intimidation and bully. Credit: @jidesanwoolu Source: Twitter Efforts by ASP Erhabor to arrest the traffic offender led to a scene of a chaos as the ageing officer was humiliated and even threatened with job loss by Ebhomenyen and his cohort.
Armed with his official AK-47 rifle, Erhabor did not retaliate or pull the trigger. He, instead, demonstrated civility and patience, maintaining professional conduct in the face of intimidation.
Lagos policeman honoured by Sanwo-Olu says he’s not shot a single person since joining the force in 1992 His professionalism, which came on the heels of the protest against continued police brutality, hit the internet. Since then, the police officer has become a celebrated role model for the men of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF).
On Monday, April 19, he was awarded by the governor of Lagos state, Babjide Sanwo-Olu. This came hours after Nigerians raised over N500,000 for the officer who has less than five years to use in service.