between. But his path from his birthplace in a village in the creeks near Warri to his promotion through the ranks of the police, followed by his struggle to find adequate medical help, seemed to me typical of many in a country where the odds of succeeding are long.
He was born on 2 May 1964 in his grandfatherâs village of Asiayei Gbene. According to Wellington, his father had many wives and he does not know how many brothers and sisters he has. His father, an Ijaw by ethnicity, was in the army and moved regularly, so Wellington attended primary and secondary school in Ogun state in south-western Nigeria, where he was stationed at the time, many miles away from their home in the creeks of the Niger Delta. He said his father fought on the Nigerian side in the 1967â70 civil war, though Wellington did not seem to remember much from that period. When his father retired from the army in 1977, Wellington returned to the Niger Delta and finished his secondary education in the town of Ayakoromo, also located within the creeks near Warri. In 1982, while living with his uncle in nearby Rivers state, he heard an announcement on the radio that the police were recruiting, so he went to headquarters and signed up. After passing a test to join, he was sent for training at Oji River, slightly further north, and became a recruit constable on 1 September 1983, when he was 19 years old.
âI have this respect for uniformed personnel because they command respectâ, he said when I asked him why he wanted to become a policeman. âWherever uniformed men â police, army, air force, navy â wherever they go, people respect them a lot.â
Later in the conversation, I asked him if that would have come from his father.
âYes, yes.â
After some time on the force, Wellington began to realise he needed to do more if he wanted to continue to advance through the ranks. He decided to go back to school, and in 1999 he was admitted into Ambrose Alli University in Edo state to study public administration. He said he continued to work as a policeman during that time and was placed on night duty to allow him to attend classes. He graduated in 2004, and five years later he was accepted into the police staff college. After completing the course, he was posted to Kano. He had mainly been in the investigations department throughout his career, and he remained there in his new posting. Before his injury, he said he had never been shot at and the toughest situation he had dealt with involved armed robbers.
At around 6 p.m. on 20 January 2012, Wellington finished for the day at state police headquarters in Kano and took the walk back to the barracks. He had only a one-room flat since his wife was not there with him. She had remained in Kaduna, where he had been posted before attending officersâ college. Back in the barracks that evening, he intended to prepare food for his dinner, but was interrupted by yelling and the sound of gunfire and explosions. When he walked out, he saw a man dressed in the green beret, black shirt and green trousers worn by the mobile police branch of the service, estimating he was between 15 and 30 metres away. He was thinking that both of them could run back to headquarters, or if that was not possible, to a church located inside the barracks to take cover.
âWith the gunshots going everywhere, I just came out, and I wanted to lock my door, and as I turned to lock my door, I saw somebody in a mobile uniform from head to toeâ, said Wellington, still lying on his back on the mattress on the floor. âI was thinking it was my colleague â the mobile men that are being posted to man the barracks gate and the armoury in the barracks. And I was trying to beckon on him so that we could all run to safety, and before Icould say Jack Robinson, I didnât know myself again. I was already on the ground.â
âHe is the one who shot?â I asked.
âHe is the one that
He was born on 2 May 1964 in his grandfatherâs village of Asiayei Gbene. According to Wellington, his father had many wives and he does not know how many brothers and sisters he has. His father, an Ijaw by ethnicity, was in the army and moved regularly, so Wellington attended primary and secondary school in Ogun state in south-western Nigeria, where he was stationed at the time, many miles away from their home in the creeks of the Niger Delta. He said his father fought on the Nigerian side in the 1967â70 civil war, though Wellington did not seem to remember much from that period. When his father retired from the army in 1977, Wellington returned to the Niger Delta and finished his secondary education in the town of Ayakoromo, also located within the creeks near Warri. In 1982, while living with his uncle in nearby Rivers state, he heard an announcement on the radio that the police were recruiting, so he went to headquarters and signed up. After passing a test to join, he was sent for training at Oji River, slightly further north, and became a recruit constable on 1 September 1983, when he was 19 years old.
âI have this respect for uniformed personnel because they command respectâ, he said when I asked him why he wanted to become a policeman. âWherever uniformed men â police, army, air force, navy â wherever they go, people respect them a lot.â
Later in the conversation, I asked him if that would have come from his father.
âYes, yes.â
After some time on the force, Wellington began to realise he needed to do more if he wanted to continue to advance through the ranks. He decided to go back to school, and in 1999 he was admitted into Ambrose Alli University in Edo state to study public administration. He said he continued to work as a policeman during that time and was placed on night duty to allow him to attend classes. He graduated in 2004, and five years later he was accepted into the police staff college. After completing the course, he was posted to Kano. He had mainly been in the investigations department throughout his career, and he remained there in his new posting. Before his injury, he said he had never been shot at and the toughest situation he had dealt with involved armed robbers.
At around 6 p.m. on 20 January 2012, Wellington finished for the day at state police headquarters in Kano and took the walk back to the barracks. He had only a one-room flat since his wife was not there with him. She had remained in Kaduna, where he had been posted before attending officersâ college. Back in the barracks that evening, he intended to prepare food for his dinner, but was interrupted by yelling and the sound of gunfire and explosions. When he walked out, he saw a man dressed in the green beret, black shirt and green trousers worn by the mobile police branch of the service, estimating he was between 15 and 30 metres away. He was thinking that both of them could run back to headquarters, or if that was not possible, to a church located inside the barracks to take cover.
âWith the gunshots going everywhere, I just came out, and I wanted to lock my door, and as I turned to lock my door, I saw somebody in a mobile uniform from head to toeâ, said Wellington, still lying on his back on the mattress on the floor. âI was thinking it was my colleague â the mobile men that are being posted to man the barracks gate and the armoury in the barracks. And I was trying to beckon on him so that we could all run to safety, and before Icould say Jack Robinson, I didnât know myself again. I was already on the ground.â
âHe is the one who shot?â I asked.
âHe is the one that
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