Nwapa who stated this in a release on Wednesday morning, narrated an instance of torture he had experienced from the police.
The convener of the #EndMalariaInNigeria movement, Francis Nwapa, has claimed that the slap given by an Afrobeat musician, Seun Kuti, to a police officer is one of many reactions Nigerians have been waiting to show against police brutality in the country.
Nwapa who stated this in a release on Wednesday morning, narrated an instance of torture he had experienced from the police.
He said, “At Ogba (Lagos State) in 2008, a police team was on the road collecting their usual N20 then, all of a sudden an Okada man and the young lady he was conveying fell into the dirty and moldy gutter beside where I was standing. Apparently the okada guy didn't want to part with N20, and this prompted one of the policemen to hit the big stick he was holding on him, leading to the okada guy losing control of the bike.
“Unfortunately, the inhumane policemen left them in the moldy ditch with their entire body submerged in the dirty smelling water. The Okada guy and the young lady sustained various degree of injuries. We rushed to help them out and as soon as they came out, the policemen pounced on the Okada guy and demanded for his keys, this action infuriated the young lady that she held the policeman in his uniform. Like the wave of light, I and my friend who were there intervened in defence of the victims.
“Upon the heat of argument, the policemen knew business had ended for the evening and they arrested both victims and myself, the witness. Immediately we arrived at the police station, the policemen changed the whole story. Anyone who has been a victim of police arbitrariness and brutality will understand what it means to go down to the police station.
“It was like they unleashed the whole policemen on duty that day and the next thing I received was a deafening SLAP from behind. Don't forget I was just a witness.
“The young lady was humiliated and locked up without medical attention, it took the intervention of the DCO before they took my statement and let me go.
“This is one of my numerous experiences with the brutal, corrupt and murderous institution called the Nigerian police. As long as I live, I will continue to defend the right of all victims of police brutality. Aina Olanrewaju was there on that day.”
“Seun Anikulapo Kuti only returned one out of the numerous slaps a lot of Nigerians are waiting to give to Nigeria Police for years of torture, rape, killing and maiming,” his statement added.