Juliana Francis
Mr Macaroni
Less than 24 hours after he was arrested over
alleged conspiracy, conduct likely to cause breach of peace and violation of
COVID-19 protocols by the Lagos State Police Command, a comedian, Mr Debola
Adebayo, popularly known as Mr. Macaroni, has made a six minutes video,
narrating how he and 39 others were beaten and threatened by policemen.
This was even as the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Mr Hakeem Odumosu, yesterday, called for an investigation into the inhuman treatment meted out on Macaroni and others.
On Saturday, Macaroni and other young Nigerians were at the Lekki Toll gate to protest the proposed fixing and reopening of the toll gate.
The tollgate was destroyed during the last EndSARS protests, which rocked many states across Nigeria. The protest was over police brutality, extortion and extrajudicial killings.
Many protesting youth last year were believed to have killed and injured at that very tollgate after soldiers opened fire on them, while trying to disperse them.
Following his arrest at the tollgate by the police on Saturday, Macaroni and others were stripped, packed into the back van of a police patrol like sardine, with the policemen wilfully negligent of the COVID-19 protocols of social distance and facemasks.
A video, showing how Macaroni and the 39 others were stripped and bundled into the back of the patrol van went viral, eliciting condemnations from different quarters.
In his video yesterday, Macaroni thanked everyone, including lawyers, who were instrumental to his release. He also stated that at some point after his arrest, he feared for his life.
He mentioned that he and others were taken to Adeniji Police Station and beaten. The policemen also allegedly told him and others, that they would kill them and nothing would happen.
His words: “It’s not that I’m the bravest. In fact, I was scared and I didn’t want to go out. Everyone called me, my father, siblings and friends and urged me not to go out. In all honesty I didn’t want to, but the only reason I went was because I knew people would be there. I knew people would die. I saw it and I can confirm to you, if word had not got out, people would have died and nobody would have known where anyone was or who picked up who. The situation where we are now in this country is a deep shit. You can’t blame anyone. People are scared. I’m scared and we know we have a government that has zero value for human lives.”
He further stated: “We need to come together to speak against what is going in our society. I had already heard that three people had been arrested. We were taken to Adeniji, stripped and beaten. Everyone was beaten. I have asked for the names of the 39 people, who were with me; male and females. I didn’t have the courage to go out; it was those 39 people that went out, that gingered me to go out. I just said let me go out and see what was happening. These 39 people are the real heroes. They went out and they said, ‘look, we’re not here to fight, we just want to know why you people want to open the tollgate, is that the next thing to do?’ There had been no justice for families who lost loved ones last year and businesses were destroyed. Opening the tollgate…is that the next line of action? Nobody supports violence, but we need to come together to speak to the government. There were over 200 policemen yesterday at the tollgate and you want to tell people that you can’t guarantee peaceful protest if there was one? It shows you guys are irresponsible! We were beaten and each policeman would come and…it’s a serious war out there. If word was not out that we were being held, people would have died. The policemen were telling us; they said they would shoot us and nothing would happen. That if it was night, every one of us would have died. But you can’t continue to silence us. You can’t continue to oppress us.”
He ended his video by raining curses on people who had allegedly been spreading lies that he collected money from Atiku or some other people to join the Saturday protest.
Yesterday, the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), Muyiwa Adejobi, stated that Odumosu has condemned the molestation of Macaroni and others and had also instituted an immediate investigation.
He said: “The attention of the Lagos State Police Command has been drawn to a viral video where some arrested "Endsars protesters" were being molested in a bus by some individuals after their arrest. The Commissioner of Police, Lagos State, CP Hakeem Odumosu, who was piqued by this unprofessional and inhuman act, has ordered the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP), State CID, Panti, Adegoke Fayoade, to analyse the video and bring to book those responsible for the act. Odumosu reiterates that, in as much the command was resolute in enforcing all laws in the state, it would not deviate from the Standard Operating Procedure of the Nigeria Police Force and provisions of the law in discharging its duties. He noted that the command would fish out those responsible for the molestation and ensure they were punished for their unprofessional conduct. He further urged Lagosians to be law-abiding and maintain peace at all times as the police and other security agencies would not allow any violence and break down of law and order in any part of the state.”
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