Two women have been beaten to a pulp by the men of the Ogun State Police Command attached to the Lafenwa Division in Abeokuta, the state capital.
The women, whose names were not known as of the time of filing this report, were in tears as they accused the policemen of assaulting them for no just cause.
The incident occurred on Thursday last week while the women, who are traders, were coming from a market in the area.
It was reported that instead of the Divisional Police Officer to investigate the matter and take appropriate action, he allegedly tried to sweep it under the carpet by giving the women N3,000 to go and take care of themselves.
The women narrated their ordeal in the hands of the policemen, claiming that they were slapped, dragged on the ground and brutalised.
One of them, who spoke in Yoruba, said, “I told the DPO that I was looking for a means of livelihood; that was why i was outside early in the morning when the incident happened. I am a widow and my children must eat. When would I go to market if not early in the morning?”
Displaying the injured parts of her body, she stated, “The DPO asked someone to give me N3,000 to go and take care of myself.”
The other woman lamented, “In a twinkle of an eye, two of them (policemen) slapped us. They humiliated and molested me. They trampled on my stomach and I have been having a serious stomach ache.”
The police have, however, denied the allegation, describing the incident as “a case of an accident and not an intentional assault.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, DSP Abimbola Oyeyemi, said the incident happened when the Commissioner of Police, Ahmed Iliyasu, was not around.
He noted that the matter had been attended to by three deputy commissioners of police, adding that the police officers had appealed to the women despite the fact that the uniform of one of the policemen was torn by the women.
Oyeyemi said, “It was a case of an accident. There had been series of shop break-ins and snatching of bags around Lafenwa. The Commissioner of Police gave an order that a team should be set up to check the menace. This team usually patrols the area every night.
“On that fateful day, the team saw two boys around some shops in the area at 3am. They looked suspicious and later ran away when they saw the police.
“The police gave them a chase and as they were pursuing them, two women were standing beside a motorcycle around 3am and in an attempt to escape from the police, the boys had a collision with the women. One of them fell down and the other held one of the policemen and tore his uniform.
“The leader of the team took them to the police station, while the boys escaped. The DPO of Lafenwa, after getting the details of what happened, gave the women N3,000 to take care of themselves.”
Oyeyemi added, “The following day, the incident was reported to the state headquarters and three deputy commissioners of police summoned the DPO and ordered him to bring the women and members of the team to them.
“The DC in charge of operations, Edward Ajogun; the DC in charge of the Criminal Investigation Department, Aminu Al-Hassan; and the DC in charge of administration, Wale Olokode, contributed N40,000 and gave each of them N20,000 to take care of themselves.
“When the women complained that they didn’t have husbands, the officer asked them to be taken to the Police Clinic, apart from the N20,000 given to each of them.
“We are investigating the matter and we have uncovered the reporter who instigated the women to make the incident a social media affair. She works with a federal radio station in Abeokuta and we have reported the case to the general manager of the station, who asked us to bring a letter of complaint to him. We are going to charge her for false information. Giving false information is an offense.”
