A mother of three, Mrs. Yetunde Adeyemi, has been hospitalised, following her collapse at a police where she was detained and denied access to her drugs by operatives attached to Somolu Police Station.
Mrs Adeyemi, a resident of 2, Bolowosere, off Oloruntoyin Street, Bariga, told our correspondent, who visited her at Gbagada General Hospital yesterday, that she was locked up from 5 a.m last Thursday till Friday night when she slumped.
The woman, an ulcer patient, said she neither had access to her drugs, meal nor water, adding that the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), Sergeant Adetutu, drove her family who brought food and medication.
Weeping uncontrollably, the woman said she was whisked away from her home in handcuffs that morning for a crime she said she did not commit.
She said the police accused her of collecting N40,000 from a woman, identified simply as Iya Ayoka, an allegation she denied.
According to Mrs Adeyemi, trouble started for her when she told the caretaker of her home, Yomi, that she wanted to move out of the premises.
She said: “I have three children and we live in one room. So, I told the caretaker that I would like to move out into a bigger room that can accommodate us. I requested that he refund my balance, but he said I should get someone to take the place and that I should take my money from there.
“I got someone but the caretaker said he did not want the person. All of a sudden, the caretaker got someone, collected money from the woman behind my back and told her when to pack into the house.
“I only knew about it the day the woman came to move in. I was in my room and she said she had paid. She said she was told to move in that day. I told her that was not possible, since I was still in the house and my money had not been refunded.
“Iya Ayoka said she had paid the caretaker, but I refused to move. That was how the woman brought the police. They said the landlord escaped and the police woman came to my house around 5 a.m and handcuffed me.
“I begged her to allow me collected my drugs because I have ulcer, but she refused. She put me inside their van and said I was a thief and that they would send me to prison.
“At the station, she interrogated me and I told her what I knew. I was already having severe pains because the cell was smelly. I had not eaten nor drunk water; I had not taken my drugs either. My children and neighbours came to see me. They brought food and my drugs but she (Adetutu) drove them away, saying I would die there.”
Mrs Adeyemi said it was while she was brought out on Friday night for another round of questioning she collapsed.
She added: “I was weak and in pains. I passed out while she was questioning me. Instead of the IPO to call my family, I was told that she bought milk and drugs and was forcing them into my system.
“Why should I be arrested for something I have no hand in? Why did they not arrest the caretaker’s wife or look for him? They are just trying to use the police to force me out of my house and hold my money. Please, beg that policewoman to leave me alone. She has been calling me that I was faking sickness and not in the hospital. They should tell her not to kill me because my children are still young. She should go and look for the person who collected the money and leave me alone.”
A resident who tipped our correspondent about the incident said Sergeant Adetutu rushed the woman to a nearby hospital last Friday but was rejected because she had no money to deposit for treatment.
The source added: “When Sergeant Adetutu saw that the woman was dying, she rushed to the palace of the Oba and begged for money. She was given some money to take the woman to the hospital. At that point, she had called her family and they took her to a hospital in Bariga.
“She was immediately admitted and placed on drips. It was from that hospital she was moved to Gbagada General Hospital, where she was placed on another drip, and certain tests were recommended for her.
“Even as the woman is on admission at the hospital, the sergeant has not stopped threatening her. Is that how the police work? Are they not supposed to be unbiased?
“The annoying issue in this matter is that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) had told Sergeant Adetutu and the Divisional Crime Officer (DCO) to release her on Friday morning, when he interrogated the woman and the complainant.
“He told them to go after the caretaker or invite his wife, since it was clear the caretaker was the one who collected money. But the sergeant refused to release the woman. Why is the sergeant bent on committing injustice? I appeal to police authorities to look into this matter.”