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Activist Threatens Action Against Policeman Who Assaulted A Pregnant Woman In Lagos

July 6, 2014

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A Youtube video clip that surfaced on social media few days ago showing a police officer identified as Arthur Okeke harassing a pregnant woman has continued to attract more reactions, with calls for appropriate sanctions against the erring officer.

Speaking with journalists in Lagos, the victim, Mrs. Rasheedat Oyelowo Abdulmajeed, recounted her experience at the hands of the police officer, saying he engaged in embarrassing conducted. The victim stated that police officer slapped her and also to her scarf (hijab) during the encounter.

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Cellphone camera captures part of the assault video by the officer

She recalled that the policeman was seating behind her in the bus, and he leaned forward, resting his arms behind her seat. 

According to Rasheedat, trouble started when officer Okeke ordered her to raise her back from the seat so that he could proper rest his (officer) arms, but a heavily pregnant Rashidat reportedly told the police officer that she was entitled to rest her back and went on to let the officer know that she was pregnant.
 
An infuriated officer began assaulting her for refusing his orders.

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“He pulled my hijab from the back and forcefully thrust my head," she said.

She also narrated how the police officer ordered the bus to stop and also asked every passenger to alight so that he could further assault. She said every passenger in the bus condemned the officer’s action, but most of them were afraid that he could harm them. The officer then beckoned on another officer who was controlling the traffic to join him in the act, but the invited officer turned him down. 

Reacting to the incident, President of Women Arise, Dr. Joe Okei-Odumakin, who received the victim in her office on Friday, urged Inspector General of Police, Mohammed Abubakar to investigate the matter and discipline the erring officer.

Okei-Odumakin warned that something had to be done urgently to stem the rising spate of indiscriminate molestation of citizens by police officers.

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Rasheedat Oyelowo Abdulmajeed

“I trust the IG of police that he will take action on this and bring Arthur Okeke to book," she said.

“Failure to do this, we will mobilise all pregnant women and protest police brutality on the streets for the sake of Mrs. Rasheedat."

The Police is yet to make any comment on the matter, despite series of messages to the force via its social media channels.

 

Topics
Human Rights