Two Lagos-based artistes, David Marvellous and Damilola Oladimeji, have accused some personnel of the Lagos State Police Command of alleged extortion and sexual harassment.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the artistes were returning home on July 28, 2020, after buying food when policemen from the Langbasa Police Station allegedly accosted them on their estate at Badore, in the Ajah area of the state.
The duo told our correspondent that after their arrest, the policemen went round the estate, apprehending innocent residents while threatening to shoot anyone who resisted them.
Marvellous, who alleged that one of the policemen sexually harassed him, stated that the cop also slapped him on the face when he (Marvellous) queried his action.
He alleged that the cops released them the following morning after collecting N10,000 for bail.
Marvellous said, “My friend and I went out to buy food around 10.30pm. On our way back, we were accosted by strange armed men in a van. They were in mufti and had guns. Because we had never seen or experienced anything like that before on the estate, the first thing that came to our mind was to run.
“We ran and they chased us. They caught up with us, collected our phones and bundled us into their van. We later realised that they were policemen when they kept pointing their guns in our faces and threatening that they could end our lives right there.
“The policemen questioned us. But when we tried to respond, we received severe beatings. It was almost like each time we said a word, it was followed with hot blows and slaps, so we kept mute. They went on to raid a hotel on the estate and arrested almost everyone in it, including the manager. The team leader, Sunday, kept smiling and saying he had discovered a new spot to raid.
“When we got to the police station, we asked for our phones so we could inform our families of our arrest. They refused and told us that we were going to sleep in the cell that night.
“One of the male officers molested me sexually while searching my body. He touched my private parts and when I challenged him, he slapped me twice on the face. We were taken to the office of the team leader in the morning and we were given our phones to call our families to come and bail us. My friend called his manager, who bailed us out with N5,000 each.
“I have been limping since this attack. I can’t go out at night again because I will be scared; I don’t feel comfortable outside when it’s dark.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said he would get back to our correspondent, but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
PUNCH Metro learnt that the artistes were returning home on July 28, 2020, after buying food when policemen from the Langbasa Police Station allegedly accosted them on their estate at Badore, in the Ajah area of the state.
The duo told our correspondent that after their arrest, the policemen went round the estate, apprehending innocent residents while threatening to shoot anyone who resisted them.
Marvellous, who alleged that one of the policemen sexually harassed him, stated that the cop also slapped him on the face when he (Marvellous) queried his action.
He alleged that the cops released them the following morning after collecting N10,000 for bail.
Marvellous said, “My friend and I went out to buy food around 10.30pm. On our way back, we were accosted by strange armed men in a van. They were in mufti and had guns. Because we had never seen or experienced anything like that before on the estate, the first thing that came to our mind was to run.
“We ran and they chased us. They caught up with us, collected our phones and bundled us into their van. We later realised that they were policemen when they kept pointing their guns in our faces and threatening that they could end our lives right there.
“The policemen questioned us. But when we tried to respond, we received severe beatings. It was almost like each time we said a word, it was followed with hot blows and slaps, so we kept mute. They went on to raid a hotel on the estate and arrested almost everyone in it, including the manager. The team leader, Sunday, kept smiling and saying he had discovered a new spot to raid.
“When we got to the police station, we asked for our phones so we could inform our families of our arrest. They refused and told us that we were going to sleep in the cell that night.
“One of the male officers molested me sexually while searching my body. He touched my private parts and when I challenged him, he slapped me twice on the face. We were taken to the office of the team leader in the morning and we were given our phones to call our families to come and bail us. My friend called his manager, who bailed us out with N5,000 each.
“I have been limping since this attack. I can’t go out at night again because I will be scared; I don’t feel comfortable outside when it’s dark.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said he would get back to our correspondent, but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
That's no the right thing for them to do
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