On Friday morning, policemen attached to the Abattoir police station in the Agege area of Lagos State broke into the house of Taiwo Aduragbemi, an Abule-Egba resident, some 10 minutes away from their station.
Brandishing guns, they threatened the man and took offence at his insistence on capturing their actions.
They hit Aduragbemi’s phone off his hands, causing it to fall and break. They also carted him away to their station where they held him for hours until his eventual release in the evening.
Speaking with FIJ after his release, Aduragbemi said, “They barged into my house with plain clothes at about 11 am and I thought they were armed robbers, so I complied to avoid getting killed.
“When I suspected they might be police officers, I tried to film the incident for my safety, but one Kola, who led the team of five, ordered his boys to slap and kick me to the ground. One did and he smashed my phone. The other slapped me and they were both preparing to shoot me.
Aduragbemi’s phone after the incident
“They later forced me into their van and took me to their station where I was detained for over three hours after taking off my clothes and slippers.”
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He said the police only released him after he repeatedly demanded to call his lawyer.
“They told me to tip them before they would let me go home but I bluntly refused. They then let me go at about 6 pm,” he said.
When FIJ asked Aduragbemi to describe Kola, he said, “He’s of average height, has dark skin and barbed skin cut with tiny strands of grey hairs on his head. He is not young. He should be in his 50s or late 40s.”
Aduragbemi said he spoke with the DPO at the station but the station head did not listen to him.
FIJ called the DPO on Saturday. He refused to give his name, but said Aduragbemi could come see him and he would look into the matter again.
Meanwhile, Kayode Egbetokun, the Inspector General of Police (IGP) issued a directive on February 10 prohibiting policemen from carrying arms while clad in mufti.
“No operative should be seen carrying assault arms (rifles) while dressed in civilian attire (mufti),” the statement read.
“All tactical squads are to ensure compliance with the standard operating procedure, while properly dressed in the assigned uniform for the particular squad.”
Aduragbemi said the only thing any of them wore that indicated they were with the police was a bulletproof vest only Kola had on.
FIJ informed the Police Complaints Response Unit (CRU) via WhatsApp, and they promised to investigate.
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