A human rights organisation, the Save Lagos Group has raised an alarm over
persistent violation of the rights of citizens of the state by men of the
Lagos State Police Command, saying the top hierarchy of the force must
call their errant staff to order before the situation gets out of hand.
The organisation in a statement signed by its Convener, Comrade Adeniyi A.
Sulaiman on Tuesday specifically accused personnel attached to
Mosafejo/Amukoko Police Station for gross misconduct in the way and manner
they carry out their duties of securing the lives and property of the
citizens.
Specifically, Sulaiman made the call against a recent development that saw
men of the force attached to Mosafejo/Amukoko Police Station brutalising a
Lagos based accounting graduate, Mr. Usman Toryib Owonifari who is still
recuperating at a private hospital in Orile-Iganmu/Mile 2 area of the
state.
Recounting his ordeal in the statement, the victim stated that he was with
his fiancée, Miss Kausarat Yusuf at her residence on Alafia Street located
in Amukoko, Mosafejo area when some policemen forcefully abducted the two
of them to their station at Amukoko Divisional Police headquarters at
Olatunji Street located a few metres away from Cemetery Road, Amukoko;
Lagos.
“The incidence occurred at about 8:55pm on Sunday 6th of August, 2017. I
was with my fiancée in front of their house when we sighted two men in
plain clothes coming towards us. We didn’t even take any serious notice of
them until one of them told us rudely to stand up, which we did,” says
Owonifari who began to recount his ordeal.
He continued, “Before we could make any form of protest, another police
officer in uniform joined them and began to hit me with the butt of his
gun. Before them, the other two men were frisking us and putting their
hands into our pockets.
“When I demanded to know what specific offence that we have committed,
they began to beat me and it was at that point one of the other two
officers began to slap Kausara in the face. From nowhere a tricycle
surfaced and they bundled us into it and took us to Mosafejo/Amukoko
Police Station where we were taken to the back of the main building.”
Owonifari said.
According to him, the cries, pleas and protestations attracted the
Divisional Police Officer (DPO) who wanted to know what was happening but
in the end failed to rescue them from the continued torture of his men.
“The DPO came to where were kept to know what was happening but to our
surprise, he only took his men to somewhere to find out what was happening
but later came around to ask for our own side of the story but soon left
us alone to our fate by departing to his office,” he said.
Owonifari who is critically lying injured in a private hospital due to the
injuries he suffered from the beatings he received stated that he lost
some valuable belongings to the incidence such as his ATM card, damaged
phone, his purse containing the sum of N10,000.
Commenting on the incidence, Sulaiman urged the leadership of the force to
ensure prompt monitoring of the activities of its personnel, saying the
group has given the police commissioner in charge of the state, Mr. Fatai
Owoseni 24 hours to effect the arrest of the errant officers and the DPO
and to further investigate the matter.
“We are warning the leadership of the force for the umpteenth time to put
the activities of its men in check, the incessant abuse that they subject
the helpless residents of the state to especially in recent times have
become unbearable and can no longer be tolerated.
“If this attitude is not put in check and we are watching the development,
we will not in anyway hesitate to picket the police headquarters to drive
home our demands. This is because we get to hear these cases of brutality
of the citizens everyday in our offices and our patience seems to be
running out.” Sulaiman stated.