Tunde Olatunbosun and Ahosi Rotimi, who policemen arrested in the Badagry area of Lagos State on December 6 upon a report by Ope Oloko, a wealthy smuggling leader in the area, were released on Friday.
FIJ earlier reported how a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) squad under the office of the Inspector General of Police (IGP) from Abuja arrested the two men at Bradevic Hotel and Garden, along Badagry Expressway.
“They have been released and are now back home. They came back yesterday,” said a source who is familiar with their arrest and release.
READ ALSO: ‘They’re Damaging My Reputation’ — Smuggler ‘Ope Oloko’ Causes Police to Arrest Relatives of ‘Whistleblowers’ Tortured by Customs
“It was Ope Oloko who reported them to the police. He did that to intimidate them from reporting his brutalisation of Taofeek and Rafiu Abdulmalik, who are their brothers, through the Nigeria Customs Service (NCS) and Nigerian Army officers two weeks ago.”
After their arrest, Olatunbosun and Rotimi were first taken to and detained at the Federal Criminal Investigation Department (FCID), Alagbon, in the state. Their devices were confiscated and they were disallowed from speaking with their families.
Two days later, they were driven to Abuja.
The police had told Olatunbosun and Rotimi at the point of arrest that they had received a report from Ope Oloko that they were tarnishing his image by linking him to the torture of Taofeek and Abdulmalik.
On Thursday and Friday, Muyiwa Adejobi, the force public relations officer (FPRO), did not respond to phone calls placed to his line. The calls were followed up with a text and WhatsApp message, but he had also not responded at press time.
Previously, Oloko had told FIJ that he could not comment on the arrest.
“It is not in my place to discuss why the police arrested someone. What is the duty of a journalist in knowing why someone was arrested or who caused their arrest? If you want to know why they were arrested, go to the police station. I don’t want to sound rude, that’s why I answered your call,” he had said on December 7.
BACKSTORY: THE TORTURE
Customs officers Thompson Inemugha, a superintendent of customs, and Gmira Aboribo, an assistant superintendent of customs II, as well as the Nigerian Army’s Adamu Sakare, brutalised Taofeek and Abdulmalik.
READ ALSO: VIDEO: Customs Officers Act as Smuggler Ope Oloko’s Agents, Torture Suspected Whistleblowers in Badagry
While whipping both of them on tape, the security operatives repeatedly condemned them for attempting to expose Ope Oloko.
Following reports of the beating, both the customs and the army identified the officers and promised to discipline them based on their internal protocols.
The post Brothers of Tortured ‘Smuggling Whistleblowers’ Regain Freedom 7 Days After IGP’s SWAT Seized Them appeared first on Foundation For Investigative Journalism.