The victim, Risikat Bamidele
A pregnant woman who was tortured and brutalised by a DPO has lost her baby.
Another case of police brutality seems to be brewing after a 37-year-old woman, Risikat Bamidele, reported how she lost her baby after the Divisional Police Officer (DPO), in charge of the Kemta Idi-Aba Police Headquarters in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State, identified as CSP Samuel, allegedly tortured and brutalised her on Saturday, November 28, for daring to make a phone call in his presence after her husband was detained at the station.
The report carried by Vanguard, states that the woman, a staff of Catholic Comprehensive High School at Onikolobo, Abeokuta, who is currently on admission at the State Hospital, Ijaiye, after she reportedly lost her nine-weeks-old pregnancy, had gone to the station after her husband, Tunde, was arrested and detained and she was trying to place a call to her brother-in-law to come and secure a bail for her husband.
But the action was said to have irked CSP Samuel who descended on her, hitting her in the stomach and face repeatedly, after which he ordered that she be detained for her insolence.
“When I got to the police station, my husband gave me his phone that I should call his brother. When I was calling, I just saw one man; I never knew he is the DPO. He said ‘you are very stupid, you are phoning after 8pm. You don’t know we don’t phone here after 8pm?’
I apologised that I wasn’t aware I shouldn’t call even when other officers were there and they didn’t stop me.
He forcibly took my phone and called a police officer to arrest me. They harassed me and pushed me and my husband had to rush out shouting ‘she is pregnant, don’t push her.’
That was when the man started slapping and shouting at me. I suffered serious stomach pains all through the night following the assault.
The police officers on duty would not come to my aid but my husband gave me some money to buy sanitary pad to stop the blood flow from my private part."
The victim further said that she was rushed to the hospital after she was released from the cell the following Monday where doctors confirmed that her nine weeks’ old pregnancy had been aborted due to the beating she got from the senior police officer.
Her husband, Tunde, narrated that his problems with the police started after he asked a building contractor for the money he was being owed and the man reported him to the police.
"I had gone to the contractor called Bolaji to demand for the balance of my money after he owed me and my other colleagues who worked for him N894,000 for the past 19 months but he took offence and called the police on me.
Bolaji and I were taken to the station where we were both detained initially. Before we were detained, the DPO said we should write statements but I said I wasn’t ready to write any statement.
When it was 7pm, my wife called me because I am a diabetic and an ulcer patient and she had to come to the station. When she came, I gave her my phone to call my brother and what I heard from inside was ‘bastard, go inside’, and she was detained.
My clothes were removed, and they poured water on me and gave an instruction that I should be smoked with tear gas.”
Tunde also accused the DPO of collecting N20,000 before releasing him and his wife on bail.
This case is coming barely a week after the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase, had warned police officers to be civil while dealing with civilians as he would not condone any form of torture or brutality.
The IGP also said that bail is free, so it is now left to be seen the steps the police hierarchy would take to curb these acts of brutality on the populace.
No comments:
Post a Comment