Precious Igbonwelundu
FIVE of the seven policemen who allegedly kidnapped, tortured and extorted a fashion designer in Festac Town, Lagos have been arrested, The Nation has learnt.
They were arrested on Wednesday.
They include an Inspector, and four Sergeants who are currently facing orderly room trial at the police headquarters in Ikeja at the instance of Police Commissioner Hakeem Odumosu.
The victim, Joseph Ejiro, had taken to social media to lament how the rogue cops on November 21, allegedly accosted him around 11am, forced him into their minibus, tortured and extorted N190,000 from him at their post along Seventh Avenue in Festac Town.
Ejiro said the policemen forcefully transferred N185,000 from his Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) account to a Unity Bank account 0040509699 belonging to Ashamo Oluwasola Samuel, adding that they also took N5,000 cash from him before letting him go after eight hours in their custody.
The designer’s experience generated public outcry on social media with respondents demanding an overhaul of the police.
Narrating his ordeal, Ejiro said: “The last few days have been some of the most depressing of my life. I have debated whether or not to talk about this, what the point would be other than rehashing a terrible experience.
“But the kindness and outrage of friends in the last few days have affirmed that I am not crazy or overly dramatic for feeling this way: violated, expendable and afraid.
“I was kidnapped, beaten, tortured, threatened with death by members of the police. What does freedom mean when policemen can force you into their van, torture you, and threaten to kill you if you don’t pay ransom?
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“On November 21, I was at Festac to make a delivery to a client. Heading home, a police officer, wearing a police polo shirt with no name tag, blocked my path at Second Rainbow Junction and told me his oga wanted to speak to me. This was around 11am.
“I asked what the problem was and he said there was no problem, just to come with him. The officer led me to a police minibus parked in front of the petrol station at Second Rainbow Junction. There were seven policemen in police polo shirts waiting by the bus.
“The officers asked what was in my bag, grabbed it before I could respond, and went through it: money, phone charger, earphones.
“They demanded that I unlock my phone and give it to them. I asked again what the problem was and why they needed to go through my phone.
“They repeated their order, crowding me in, and even though I was terrified I refused to hand them my phone except they told me why they wanted to go through my phone. The IG is constantly on television saying that such demands are illegal and ultra vires.
“The police officers pushed me into their minibus and took turns beating me. My cries of pain fell on deaf ears.
“They handcuffed me and made the cuffs so tight it cut off blood flow and my hands went numb.
“They forced my finger onto my fingerprint scanner and unlocked my phone. One of them got behind the wheel, started the bus and they took me to their station at 7th Avenue Festac Town. On the way, they threatened to kill me and dump my body in a ditch, threatened to frame me with the charge of any crime they deemed fit.
“Having gone through my phone and found nothing incriminating, they took pictures of me with their phones, putting objects in my hands I couldn’t see and taking snapshots.
“Each time I made to look at the things they were putting in my hands, I was slapped and told to look up at the camera. Then, they started demanding money. N500,000.
“Why? I kept asking. What did I do? I kept pleading, telling them I did not have N500,000. I didn’t have any money. They should please let me go.
“The amount kept going down. From N500,000 to N400,000. Then they came down to N350,000 and held fast there. Hours passed.
“Eventually, one of them made me unlock my phone again. He opened my GT Bank App on my phone, forced me to unlock the app with my fingerprint, and then they made me transfer N185,000 to this bank account: Ashamo Oluwasola Samuel Unity Bank 0040509699.
“They said this was the only way I was going to be released. Did I want to end up in prison? They had made me transfer all the money I had in my account, leaving behind just N3,500. Apparently, I was supposed to be grateful for their generosity, that they didn’t wipe me completely clean.
They took the N5,000 cash I had in my bag, leaving me with the N250 change that was in my pocket.
“They finally let me go at about 7pm. I kept saying I had been arrested by the police and they took money from me, until a friend corrected me: I was kidnapped and made to pay ransom.
Responding to a message in respect of the issue, the police chief said the matter was already being investigated, adding that the culprits have been identified and arrested.
He assured that the command would ensure justice was done.
Police spokesman Bala Elkana told The Nation that the money extorted from the victim has been recovered, adding that investigation would be conducted to ascertain the complicity of the account holder.
“The command would not tolerate impunity and the Commissioner wants to use this incident to send a strong warning to officers and other ranks,” he said.
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