Man chained to patrol van is cultist, violent –Police

Outrage has continued to trail the Facebook video, showing a suspect chained to a police van and dragged on the ground as the vehicle was moving.

The police in Edo State yesterday said people misinterpreted the video. The police said the chained man, Kesta Gozie, 25, was a suspected cultist and had to be chained because he became violent when he was arrested. The police also said that the van was a stationery one.

The video was recorded and uploaded on social media by a witness, Irabor Franklyn.

The incident occurred on Sunday morning, by Tuesday, the video had gone viral, eliciting anger and shock. People said the action was an abused of the fundamental rights of Gozie. The state Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), DSP Moses Nkombe, said Gozie was not tortured or dehumanised in anyway.
He said Gozie was arrested following a distress call to police that some secret cult members were operating on Sakponba Road. He said that 10 suspects were arrested.

Nkombe said that what members of the public saw in the Facebook video was the fault of the suspect. He said: “Moments after he was arrested, the suspect became violent. He tried to escape and was therefore handcuffed.

“The young man is Kesta Gozie, 25-year-old. He lives at Sakponba Road.

The police received a distress call that some secret cult boys were operating in the area. Police rushed to the area and arrested over 10 of them. But Gozie became violent; his violent attitude led to his being handcuffed as he tried to run.” Nkombe added that the vehicle, to which Gozie was being conveyed to the station, was also stationary contrary to the erroneous perception of people.
The PPRO said the suspect and others, now in detention, committed a crime and would soon be charged to court. Meanwhile, Franklyn said: “Many others and I were brutalised by men of the Nigeria Police Force from Esige Police Station; all because we pleaded with them not to drag the young man chained to the back of their Hilux van along the road.
This happened on Sunday morning, May 15th, 2017, between 1st East Circular Road and Sopkonba Road junction, Benin City. #Please I need justice.”
A witness, said: “It may interest you all to know that an innocent man, Augustine Ogbomwan, one of the persons that recorded the animalistic scene, has been locked up at the same Esigie Police Station right now. He was arrested when he went to the station to pick his phone, which was seized by the police during recording at the scene. He was detained and spent the night in police cell that Sunday night until he was bailed with N30,000.
He was asked by the Investigating Police Officer (IPO), one Inspector Idemudia, to come for his phone on Tuesday.

“On getting to the police station, he was locked up again by the same IPO on the grounds that the video was uploaded on the internet.

The Divisional Police Officer (DPO) instructed that Ogbomwan be locked up. Please Nigerians, we all have to stand up and fight against this inhumanity and oppression from the same police that are supposed to protect us.” The state Deputy Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations (DCP), Ayodele Akindele, said: “The command was on top of the situation.”