SaharaReporters on Sunday reported that his pregnant wife, Mrs. Deborah Ojeniyi lamented how her husband got arrested when they visited Restore Health Clinic in Amuwo Odofin on Saturday evening to see the husband's ailing twin brother, who was receiving treatment.
Mr. Ojeniyi, who was arrested by officers of the Nigeria Police Force attached to Amuwo Odofin Police Post, during a raid on a hospital on Saturday night has narrated his ordeal at the hands of the officers.
SaharaReporters on Sunday reported that his pregnant wife, Mrs. Deborah Ojeniyi lamented how her husband got arrested when they visited Restore Health Clinic in Amuwo Odofin on Saturday evening to see the husband's ailing twin brother, who was receiving treatment.
She said that around 9 pm, a group of approximately five police officers arrived at the hospital in a shuttle bus and arrested some people found around the hospital, including her husband.
She said they tried to ask the police officers what her husband’s offence was but they started shooting in the air and threatened to shoot her husband in the leg, saying “This is not EndSARS, police are angry. If you do anyhow, I will scatter your leg. Government is not doing us well (If you misbehave, I will shoot you in the leg. The government is mistreating us).”
She said she had to go to the hospital to bring her husband’s ailing twin brother to the police station for confirmation but they were chased away by the officers who started shooting in the air again.
However, after his release on Sunday, Mr Ojeniyi shared with SaharaReporters how the police officers physically assaulted him, detained him and 25 others in an open cell and extorted N20,000 from him despite not committing any offence known to him.
He said he was severely beaten by three police officers as they forced him into their vehicle without any explanation as to what offence he or those arrested alongside him committed.
He said, “I was with my sick brother at the Restore Health Clinic close to my house at Mile 2 Estate when I heard a young man shouting outside the clinic. He was screaming the doctor's name, ‘Dr Oke’ at the top of his voice.
“I rushed outside to see what was going on, and when I got outside, I saw some policemen trying to force the young man into their minibus (korope) but he refused and was screaming, ‘I’m not feeling well, this is the clinic I’m going, I want to go take my remaining injections’.
“He was screaming the doctor's name ‘Dr Oke’, trying to explain to them but they didn’t listen. Instead, they beat him, tore his clothes and shoved him in their vehicle.
“I noticed the doctor was trying to talk to one of the officers but they didn’t listen.
“While I was standing and observing, one of the officers grabbed me from behind and said, ‘Put this one self for motor’. I was confused and another one dragged me. I struggled but I was overpowered.
“Two officers and a guy that was with them slapped and punched me till I gave up and entered the vehicle. We were both cuffed to the vehicle’s seat and taken to their station at Second Rainbow, Mile 2.”
Mr Ojeniyi said the young man who was arrested with him quickly called his mother while the officers were driving them to the station, but his phone was seized immediately they found out he was making a call.
On his own part, he said he left his phone in the clinic and could not make any call to let his people know where he was taken to, and the police officers refused to let the doctor know the station where they came from.
He said, “When we got to the station, we discovered they raided seven people from the estate. They dropped us at the station and left again and brought back 20 people from other areas like Amukoko, Safejo and Orile side - innocent civilians.
“The mum of the guy they took with me later came that night and caused commotion in the station, so their superior officer called her into her office and the guy was released after two hours.
“By the time my brother and my mum could discover the station I was taken to, the superior officer had already left the station. I had to wait till the next day before I would be bailed
“They picked us from the clinic around 8 pm and 26 of us were stuffed in an open cell. When it began to rain around 4am, they moved us back to the counter area.
“I wrote my statement around 2 am. It was on Sunday afternoon that my people paid N20,000 for my bail. The police officers were bent on collecting N50,000 each from every innocent person arrested during the illegal raid that night.
“I’m still the only one that has been released at the moment while 25 innocent civilians are still there.”
Efforts to obtain a reaction from the state police command were unsuccessful. The police spokesperson, SP Benjamin Hundeyin, did not respond to repeated calls or a message sent to his mobile number, and had not provided a comment by the time this report was filed.