There was mild drama at the Lagos State Police Command on Friday during the parade of 319 youths arrested during raids of various hideouts in the state.
The suspects, some of whom had just towels on them, protested their arrests by the Lagos State Taskforce, insisting that they were innocent.
Protesting their arrest, the suspects claimed they were either apprehended in their homes or while they were running errands on the streets.
Some suspected drug addicts, cultists, prostitutes and miscreants were also paraded.
According to one Afeez Jimoh, he was arrested inside his room in Ajah while he was sleeping.
He said: “You can see that I am tying a towel. I was in my room in Ajah sleeping peacefully when policemen broke in and arrested me. They did not allow me to wear a short or trouser. I asked them why they are arresting me but they told me to shut up.
“I was dragged into a van and brought to the command. I am not a criminal. I am a welder and married with two children.”
Another suspect, Franca Agambu, also claimed she was arrested in her room at Omiyale in Ajah, adding that her kids aged two and five were alone.
She said: “Police arrested me in my room at Omiyale area in Ajah. I begged them to allow me take my two young daughters but they refused. I have been begging and crying to the police to go and check my children. I do not know how they are doing and I have been crying because there is nobody to take care of them.”
A female basketball player said she was returning from training when they picked her and forced her into the van.
A woman, who was alleged to be a prostitute, said she was arrested in her home with her husband at Elemoro in Ajah.
However, the suspects were assured by the state Police Commissioner, Imohimi Edgal, who assured them that a screening would be conducted and those innocent freed.
Edgal said the raid was carried out in line with the command’s commitment to rid the state of miscreants and hoodlums as election year approaches.
He said: “Ahead of the election, we are carrying out raid of criminal hideouts and black spots to rid the state of criminal elements. A total of 319 suspects were arrested.
“It is not out of place that in a raid like this, some innocent persons might be raided. That is why we are going to profile them and those who have no links with crime would be freed. We have told them to contact their relatives to come and identify them.”