Re-emerging cases of Police brutality in Imo State, Imolites nightmare

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Imolites have decried the level of inhumane treatment being meted on them by men of the Nigerian Police Force, Imo state Command on a daily basis.

Officers of the Imo State Police Command have been accused of unlawfully maltreating citizens of the state through mishandling and forceful collection of funds from victims.

 Two Imo youths came publicly on their social media pages to decry the level of inhumane treatment meted on them by men of the Nigerian police in the state.

One of the victims is a presenter with one of the popular radio stations in the state, while the other is an entrepreneur who makes money through the YouTube App.

 In October 2022, Young Joseph Obasi who is a presenter in Owerri, took to his Facebook page to narrate his experience in the hands of these men.

 “IMO STATE IS NOT SAFE! Just in case I die tonight or in the nearest future just know that I was killed by One MR IFEANYI (dressed in red and dark in complexion) who is on duty this night (9:30 pm 26th October 2022) along Okigwe road, close to government secondary school Owerri. I was just brutalized for nothing this night”

 His ordeal started when he was asked to unlock his phone by these officers and upon refusal to unlock his phone got the beating of his life.

 “Just a brief; A fair officer in their team stopped my car for a search, he didn’t search, he asked for car papers and we gave him, while he was checking the car paper he heard MR IFEANYI interrogating (almost getting physical) a uniform man he perceived to be fake military, loudly.

The officer attending to us called MR IFEANYI to leave the man and search us, when he came to us, he asked for my phone, I locked my screen and handed the phone over to him, he asked me to unlock it and I refused, I got a slap for that, he beat me until I started to defend myself”

Joseph went ahead to narrate how the officer threaten to kill him and nothing will happen.

“IFEANYI SAID HE WOULD KILL ME AND NOTHING WILL HAPPEN. He tried to pull me to a dark bushy part of the road but I refused.

While this was going on, the fair officer was equally beating me but my focus was Mr. Ifeanyi. Seeing that I refused to be intimidated, his team members calmed the tension, ensured the incident was not recorded, and freed me to go.

Up till now, all I’m getting is that I have no proof that I was beaten up, meaning that my bruises are not enough. Imo State is not safe for even innocent citizens, Be safe out there”

This is one of the cases of Police brutality being recorded in the state on a daily basis, another case is that of an Owerri-based Youtuber David.C. Jobs who also took to his Facebook page to also narrate his plight.

“So these people in the name of policemen around Okpala junction stopped our car and matched us down and started searching bags and phones.

After telling them what I do and showing them my business card, they asked me “apart from that are you not into bitcoin & forex”? after which they still seized my phone and gave me a serious group beating, and forced me to open it, after a while, they opened my YouTube studio app and that was how I entered trouble”

He further wrote,

“How was I going to educate a bunch of corrupt people that YouTube pays and what they saw were just my YouTube earnings? Long story short, after several beatings and threats they used my ATM and collected my money. Being a Nigerian is not a crime, it is a SIN!”

These and more are the nightmares of Imolites especially youths in the state as their lives and properties are not safe anymore.

We know the Nigerian Police have the responsibility of protecting lives and property amidst other duties, what is the case with Imo State?

Making reference to a Tweet made some months ago by the Police Spokesperson Mujiwa Adejobi, Nigerian Police Officers have no right to check another person’s phone, except marked as an exhibit.

 However, Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution provides that:

 “The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations, and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.”

 


We call on the Commissioner of Police Imo State Command, Mohammed Ahmed Barde, and the IMO PPRO Michael Abbatam to take action concerning these reemerging cases to make Imo a safe place for all and sundry.

Comments

  1. AnonymousDecember 22, 2022 at 6:12 AM

    Nawa ooo, please the Commissioner should look into this

    ReplyDelete

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