The conduct and ethics of the Nigerian Police Force is something Boko Haram could borrow a leaf from. The Force has been documented by several local and international human rights organizations as one of the worst civil and human rights offenders in the world.
For a young Ikoyi based couple, firsthand experience of the shoddy treatment meted out by many of these officers to innocent Nigerian citizens is not something they will soon forget.
29yr old photographer, Ejeh Smith, and his wife, Grace, 26 were attacked by a Nigerian Police Force member, Dada Ogunsanya.
Punch reports:
Narrating what transpired, the driver of the taxi, Ndubuisi Iheaka said the police asked to inspect his boot which he obliged and opened for them. He said they then demanded for his drivers license and as he was about getting it for them, they flashed their lights on his passengers
“I was about getting the driving license when he started flashing his torchlight on my passengers who were sitting at the back. The wife told the officer not to flash the torch on them since the inner light of the vehicle was on. Because of what she said, the policeman asked them to come down from the cab. This started an argument. The next thing I saw was that the policeman pulled my passenger (Ejeh) by his trousers, and his wife went to plead with him to stop. But instead, he slapped her and punched her husband. He was wearing a ring, which inflicted a deep cut on Ejeh’s face. After that, he used the butt of his gun to hit him in his eye and face. He also dragged his wife on the road.” the taxi driver said
Grace, the photographer’s wife said the assault continued with the police officer stepping on her stomach
“If I was pregnant that night, I would have lost my pregnancy. I was only trying to pet him to leave my husband since he did not have business with us. I told him to face the cab driver and leave us alone. The other policemen were just looking at him while he dragged me on the ground. A man riding a tricycle at the time was the one who rescued me. He said the policemen must call their Divisional Police Officer or else he would not leave the scene,” she said.
Mr Ejeh said as they were being tortured, the DPO of the Ikoyi Police station, Mrs Aisha Haruna arrived the scene and ordered that they be taken to their station to make statement. He said he refused, insisting that they need medical attention. He said he was dripping blood from his eyes and his wife was vomiting blood.
“We told her that we needed to first treat ourselves before we could make statements. That was when we were given forms and referred to the Falomo Police Hospital. We paid for the treatment and we also went to the eye clinic for treatment.”
Grace said all the video recordings she did of the incident on her phone have been deleted by the police, including some of her personal data.
“Even my personal data were deleted. And when I asked the DPO why she did that, she said we deserved the treatment we got. She said she would have locked us up in the cell if not for our injuries. She said we did not know how to talk,” Grace said.