When the policemen couldn’t find any adult at home, they told the children that their father, Mr Sunday Ogbonna, was a thief.
They went to Sunday’s restaurant, but his waiters. Angry, they arrested a pot of goat meat pepper soup on the fire and also proceeded to impound some electrical gadgets.
They also arrested a customer that was drinking pepper and one of the waiters. They would have made away with the pot of pepper soup, but for the quick intervention of a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), at a station nearest to the pepper soup joint.
The DPO reminded the policemen that according to police rules and regulation, they should have booked at his station, to alert him of their presence in his jurisdiction as was the norm. The policemen failed to follow procedures. The DPO, thereafter, urged them to release the pot of pepper soup.
Although they released the pot of pepper soup, they, however, dragged the waiter and customer to their station.
When Sunday returned and heard that policemen were looking for him, he went to the station himself. He was detained and accursed of being behind some missing goats in the community.
The five policemen were said to have come from Zonal Intervention Squad, Ladegboye Base, Itumaga/ Ikorodu, working directly under the supervision of Zone II, Onikan, Lagos State. The incident occurred on October 1, 2017.
Calister said: “ I was in church when the policemen came; I got home to find my children crying. They said policemen came to look for their dad. They refused to open the house gate because we have warned them never to open doors to strangers. The policemen scaled our fence and landed in the compound.
“They told my four children that their father was a thief. That he was always stealing goats. After my children told me the story, I went to our shop. I met the policemen there. They asked me if I was madam of the restaurant, I said yes. They asked for my husband, I told them he was not around. They said I was under arrest. I asked for what offence.”
When Calister noticed that they were determined to arrest and take her pot of soup to the police station, she dashed to call the DPO. The DPO intervention led to the policemen releasing the pot of pepper soup.
Calister followed them to their station, where they ordered her to enter cell.
She said: “I begged them not to put me inside cell; rather they should put me behind the counter. They refused and angrily pushed me into the cell. I struggled with them. They said I was a stubborn woman. They put me into the cell with men. I also begged them to allow our waiter and customer to leave, but they refused. I told them that the two men had nothing to do with the allegations leveled against my husband.
“I was in the cell with five men. Even when I felt the urge to urinate, the policemen refused to excuse me. Last year, these same policemen came to arrest my husband over the same allegation. They claimed to have arrested a man, who told them that he used to sell stolen goats to my husband. The policemen collected money from my husband and the case was settled.”
Calister disclosed that since the incident, her husband had been buying all his goats from the market. Thus the couple was shocked, when the policemen came again, asking for Sunday and accusing him of the same offence.
When Sunday went to the station, his wife was released and he detained. After days in detention, Sunday was charged to court. Before then, the policemen were already allegedly asking for N100,000 before they would grant bail.
He was, however, charged to court only after the national coordinator of Network on Police Reforms in Nigeria (NOPRIN), Mr Okechukwu Nwanguma, intervened, demanding that Sunday should be granted bail or charged to court. Nwanguma told the policemen that Sunday’s fundamental rights had been breached.
Nwanguma said that after further investigations, it was discovered that Sunday, who had his restaurant within the Ogijo / Mosimi-Likosi areas of Ogun State was arrested a year and seven months ago, on the same allegation.
Nwanguma said: “Last year, the police team pressured Sunday for settlement, which he granted, strictly because he didn't want distractions. Entering his bedroom to get the money, one of the policemen followed and seized the bag containing the money, which had over N130, 000. They also took four goats and many fowls being reared by his wife.
“On their way to the police station, somewhere in Lagos, the team shared the money, including the four goats and finally tendered only one goat as evidence at the station.”
Nwanguma further noted: “At the police station, the Investigating Police Officer (IPO) requested for another sum of N60, 000 for settlement, which the man's wife negotiated down to N40, 000. At the end of the day, the police released him and closed the case, even when they never showed him the alleged goat seller for identification. The mater had closure.”
Surprisingly, on October 1, 2017, the same policemen came to re-arrest Sunday.
Nwanguma said: “The policemen are not interested in investigating crime, but simply hiding under the pretext of investigating crime to commit crime-to harass, intimidate and extort money from accused persons. The alleged offense of theft is bailable. The policemen sudden decision to charge Sunday to court without informing his family was not only malicious, but a ruse to cover up their criminal demands for bribe against the IGP 's often repeated admonition against corruption in the police and his recent bail is free campaign.
“Sensing that their real criminal intentions had been exposed and due to calls coming from senior police officers and human rights groups, they thought of charging the man to court as a cover up strategy. They asked his wife to bring a surety, and when she turned up with one, they changed tune, claiming that the station head had gone and asked them to come back the following day. The woman and the surety came back in morning, only to be told that her husband had been charged to court. This is criminal and malicious. Had he provided the N100, 000 which they demanded, they certainly wouldn't have charged him to court. They had already collected various sums of money to release the others. Their motive is clearly criminal. This is clearly against the anti-corruption stance and mantra and the bail is free campaigns of the NPF recently launched by the current IGP. NOPRIN calls on the IGP to look into this case of gross police misconduct and brazen corruption and to use the officers involved to demonstrate how serious he is with his anti-corruption campaigns.”
The Zone II spokesperson, Dolapo Badmus, had earlier said that the allegations against the policemen were not true.
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