When we arrived the venue and they saw the man I had come to report, one of them said; "Why should you beat an elderly woman?" The man talked them out of the matter. I was stunned at the way event had now turned. The two police officers who had gone with me supposedly to invite my assaulter for interrogation at the police station then left me to join the queue to do voter registration as well. The fellow had boasted that no police would arrest him.
It is with a deep hurt in my heart that I write to make public, a situation of assault on me by a young man in Alapere, Ketu area, where I went to do registration for my permanent voters card. I am 61 years old.
On 19th November, 2014, I arrived the venue of registration at about 9:30am and met thousands of people already scattered everywhere, waiting for the exercise to begin.
I sighted a young man whom I perceived should be INEC official. I approached him just to know if there was any assistance they could give elderly persons, as I would not be able to stand the stress waiting for multitudes to register. He answered yes and asked me to wait for the exercise to begin first. He did so, when the exercise commenced by calling me forward from the queue.
But to my greatest shock, a young man emerged also from the queue with a hostile approach to oppose the gesture. The INEC official told him that he is the person who had called me forward for the reason I explained. But the strange young fellow said it was over his own dead body that he would allow me to go before him. Everything happened so fast that before I knew anything, he dragged me out of the queue and as I resisted, he used force and threw me to the floor, took me and pushed me outside of the hall. I shouted that people came to my rescue. He cut my wristwatch and then flung all the documents on me.
I was devastated. I approached Alapere police station and reported the matter. The police officer on the counter demanded that I pay N3000 before any officer would follow me. I pleaded down to N1000 and they collected it from me. I thought that was for transportation, but I still paid the transport that we took to the place.
When we arrived the venue and they saw the man I had come to report, one of them said; "Oh, you are the person she has come to report. Why should you beat an elderly woman?"
The man talked them out of the matter. The police corporal who went with me said in Yoruba language that the man should come and apologise to me. I showed no interest because I was stunned at the way event had now turned. They noticed my countenance and the two police officers who had gone with me supposedly to invite my assaulter for interrogation at the police station, then left me to join the queue to do voter registration as well.
Again, I was shocked and met one of them to ask him what he wanted me to do. He said I should come into the queue and do my own registration. The police officer promised they would assist me to be registered this time, but I was not interested. A person of my age has just been battered by a young man, and the police through which I sought justice recognized him and melted, then the police officers that had come with me also left me to join the queue as if I was their opportunity to come and do voter registration. Then they say to me, "you too come and do registration." What psychological position would I be in at that point to go and join the queue?
Further to it, the fellow had boasted that no police would arrest him. I thought I should not believe him, even though I had already brought policemen and they in fact had not been able to do anything.
After I waited for a long time, I decided to leave. I returned to the police station and requested to see the DPO. I saw him eventually and narrated the story. He showed no interest as he watched football match throughout my explanations.
After my narration, he asked me to make an entry. I did and handed it to the officer he had directed me to.
Nothing was done or said and so I left.
As I said, I write with deep wound in my heart. If the police have become so weak and assaulter can go boast that nothing will come from the police, then I put it to public.
Mrs. Akan Adeniyi