An illegal detention center, located at a mosque in Ojoo Ibadan, have been discovered and raided by the officers of the Oyo State Police Command on Monday, in which it rescued 259 people.
Newsmen gathered that during the raid, the police discovered victims comprising of of 19 males, 34 females, 11 children, and 23 sick persons amongst others, were said to have been held for about two to ten years in chains.
According to reports, detention centers of such have existed for decades, while the owners used them as corrective homes for defiants.
PUNCH gather that the state Commissioner of Police, Shina Olukolu, got an hiny from a 17-year-old detainee who escaped from the facility.
Olukolu said,
“The young man said the victims were being maltreated and were poorly fed; being treated like slaves and engaged in forced labour; and oftentimes, their deaths were not reported to anybody.
“On the basis of that information, the police decided to check out the centre. By the time we got to Owode, Apata, the facility had been evacuated. But from the surroundings, we knew that there were people in that place earlier than the time we arrived.
“However, the young man informed the police that there was another detention facility and that is where we are now at Oloore, Ojoo area of Ibadan.
“Actually, when the police got here, we discovered that young men and women were being kept in captivity in a dungeon-like situation. As a matter of fact, man’s inhumanity to man is being manifested in this environment. We are not happy about the situation.
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“So, we got across to the state government and the state government officials are around. They are here with a view to ensuring that some of these young people, who are kept against their will, are liberated and allowed to be in a position where they can talk and take care of themselves.
“Definitely, this area will be secured and the police will be able to do further investigation.
Anyone, who is found culpable, will definitely be arrested, investigated and prosecuted diligently to serve as a warning to others, who may want to operate such houses that serve as illegal detention centres.”