"The Igbo residents of Magbo, Obada Zone 5 Community of Fortune Estate in Agbara, Lagos has cried out and sent a save our soul [SOS] message to the Inspector General of Police, Solomon Arase in a matter of urgency to set up a panel of inquiry into the recent Brutalization of a Member of their community, Mr. Chukwuka Paul by the Men of the Nigeria Police force Area K.
They pounced on Mr. Paul and his wife, beating them to Coma and went further to take him into custody for about 72 hour without concrete Evidence against the gentleman and his family.
It was gathered that on Thursday 19th May 2016, about 8 heavily armed men storm the residence of Paul Chukwuka where he also has his house finishing material store, ordered him to enter their vehicle. While he was trying to know why such arrest is for him, they pounce on him as if they had an Order to brutalized him, he was handcuffed beaten and while his wife Ebele Paul and their little child were shouting for help from the Neighbors, his wife too was beaten and stripped in the presence of sympathizers.
He was taking to Area K command where he was detained for over 72 hours, beaten severally with different wound scattered all over his body, he was later released on bail. In our attempt to Investigate the cause of such Magnitude of brutality in this modern democratic world, some media Houses visited Obada zone 5 to hear from some eyewitnesses. The first call point was with the chairman of the Igbo community in Obada and it Patron. Mr. Samuel Egwu and Alex Nwagwu respectively.
Speaking with the media, the president Obada zone 5 Igbo Community, Samuel Egwu lamented the unprofessional conduct of the men of the police force from Area K command on how they carried out the arrest of Mr Paul a member of his community.
Hear him, 'Yes I gathered that there was a transaction between Paul and this woman in question, Paul sold a bed to that woman and after 3 years the woman refuses to pay back and you know that in business no company gives three year guaranty, so I learnt that Mr. Paul asked for his money and the woman went straight to Area K to lay allegation that Mr. Paul beat her, the police just went to his place pounce on the gentle man, beat him together with his wife and child.
'Please I ask, is it proper without asking about the genesis of the disagreement between the two of them? Look, before now we believe police is our friend but now it is clear that they are our enemies, you just act on one side of a story and start to brutalize an innocent soul, we want to use this opportunity to call on the inspector general of police Solomon Arase to please in a matter of urgency set up a panel to know what really happened before his men kill all of us in this community.
'I am really disappointed in Nigeria police. I will also want to call on our amiable governor to come to the aid of our community in terms of road and drainage because when its rain our children are always indoors because the flood is always too much,' he concluded.
Also speaking in the same vein, the patron of Igbo community Obada fortune estate Alex nwagwu lambasted the Nigeria police for their action in the area, he said for men of the police force to handle a very sensitive case like that, then some of their men lack professionalism. 'If you have some of those men as your friends then you don’t have friends because they do not have regards for humans. Look, people are always afraid to see the police, I have travel wide and far, I do ask some of them if they actually go for training before they were employed. I think the police IG need to know the kind of people the force should engage, I think the IG need to call them to other, because they are tarnishing the image of Nigeria to our foreign visitors'.
The Victim Reacts
In his reaction Mr. Paul who spoke to us through pains from the injuries he sustained while he was been arrested and in the police station said he sold a set of bed to one Mrs. Ogunfowokan who is also a neighour for 300,000. He said the woman told him clearly that she did not have the money at that time but within a week she would meet up with the payment, and because she has never requested for such, out of trust he gave the woman the bed.
After a month the woman paid 150,000 and since then she kept paying in meager sums, sometime 5,000 or 10,000 naira. Three years later she still has 65,000 balance to pay. On that 19th of may, I saw this woman and asked her about my money, she turned everything to quarrel and before you know it, police from Area K storm my store, they just asked, 'are you Chukwuka'? and I said yes, that was all before I could say anything about eight armed men pounced on me, beat me mercilessly, drag me to their car without any explanation.
On getting to the station they said I should write a statement that I was dragging and fighting them to resist arrest, I was kept behind bars for over 72 hour, they beat me at interval. They even gave me one tea, initially I resisted but because the beaten was too severe I took the tea. I have not gotten myself, my stomach is paining me because I don’t know what they use in preparing the tea. Please Nigerians help me, IG of police help me, your men want to kill me, they released me on Sunday since Thursday.
My children were fatherless for three days, my wife too was a widow for three days. On his wife, he said she did not know why the police was after her husband's life, she said she was stripped by the men of the police force.
About five eyewitnesses who will not want their names mentioned, said the police were wrong on how they went about handling the case, they said Paul was not at fault because he is a business man who sold his market and the woman refuses to pay him instead for her to beg, she claimed she knows the police and she will use then to frustrate the man."
- Definitely, we did not hear all about this saga from those who sent out this report. But that said, it would be good if the commissioner of police set up an independent panel to investigate and report back.
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