The police in Lagos have said the 29-year-old
photographer, Ejeh Smith, who was brutalised by
a policeman attached to the Ikoyi Police Division
along with his wife, Grace, was drunk on the
night of the incident.
The police authorities added that the couple
engaged the policeman in a scuffle, adding that
since the incident happened, they had refused to
make statements to the police.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State
Command, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, told PUNCH
Metro that the police had, however, detained the
erring policeman, Dada Ogunsanya, assuring
members of the public that justice would be
served.
The Lagos police’s defence came as the
Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba,
ordered a full scale investigation into the case.
Our correspondent had reported on Wednesday
that a photographer, Ejeh Smith, and his wife,
Grace, were on their way home in a taxi they
boarded at Obalende. The cab was reportedly
stopped at the Lekki Roundabout by a team of
policemen patrolling the area.
According to the taxi driver, Ndubuisi Iheaka, the
police corporal checked the boot of the car
before demanding his driving licence.
Iheaka said while he was about getting the
driving licence, Ogunsanya decided to beam his
torchlight on his passengers.
The couple was said to have protested the
action, telling him that the inner lights of the
vehicle, which were on, was enough for him to
see their faces.
The policeman reportedly asked them to alight
after which an argument ensued, which
degenerated into a scuffle.
In the process, Ogunsanya allegedly punched
Ejeh in the face and also allegedly hit him in the
face with the butt of his rifle. He thereafter
slapped Grace and stepped on her stomach.
The Ikoyi Divisional Police Officer, Mrs Aisha
Haruna, who arrived at the scene was accused
by the couple of backing the policeman’s action.
The report of the torture, accompanied with the
pictures of the couple at the time of the incident
published by PUNCH Metro , had sparked rage.
A Lagos-based human rights lawyer, Femi
Falana, constitutional lawyer, Prof. Itse Sagay
and The PUNCH online readers, were among
those who called for the sanction of the erring
policeman in a follow-up report published on
Thursday.
The police spokesman, Nwosu, while reacting to
the reports, said the police had commenced
disciplinary action against the corporal.
It was learnt that Ogunsanya had spent 11 years
in the Nigeria Police Force.
He said, “Investigation is ongoing because as a
command, we are alive to our responsibility and
we do not condone any act of incivility to
members of the public.
“However, the police corporal is alleging that the
couple fought him in uniform. The man in
question (Ejeh) was alleged to be drunk, and
since that incident happened, he has refused to
make statements to the police. If you have a
good case, why will you say you don’t want to
make statement?
“The Ikoyi DPO they are mentioning said she
arrived at the scene and ordered all of them to
be taken to the station. She was the one who
even issued medical forms to them so they could
go to the hospital.
“The man (Ejeh) told her (DPO) that he had
taken her picture and would send it to his pastor
to pray against her. I was told that he made the
station uncomfortable. Can that be right? Is that
the way to behave?
“We are interested in flushing out the bad eggs in
the system and if this officer that has been
accused is one of them, we will flush him out.”
He added that Ogunsanya had been transferred
from the Ikoyi Division to the command
headquarters where he was being detained.
While reacting to the police claims, Ejeh said he
was not drunk on the night of the incident,
adding that the police were merely cooking up
allegations against him
“I was not drunk that night because I was
coming from Ikeja where I worked. I met my wife
at Obalende from where we took the cab. I was
not drunk at all.
“I also fault the claim that I fought with the
policeman because nothing like that happened.
He was the one who hit me with his rifle in the
eye, so how can a man who could barely see
fight again?
“And yes, I told them I couldn’t make statement
because my eyesight had been affected. I cannot
see with one eye right now. I told our family
lawyer about this and he said he would write a
petition where he will state the case for us.”
Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, Mr.
Sulaiman Abba, has ordered a full scale
investigation into the case.
The Force spokesperson, Emmanuel Ojukwu, in a
statement on Thursday, said all officers
implicated in the case would be sanctioned.
He said, “The attention of the Police High
Command has been drawn to a viral media story
alleging police incivility to a couple in Ikoyi,
Lagos.
“The Inspector-General of Police, Suleiman Abba,
has ordered a full scale investigation into the
matter in line with his avowed commitment to
protect and uphold the human rights of all
Nigerians and residents therein.
“The officer involved has been identified and is
already undergoing administrative trial. All other
officers whose conduct did not speak well in the
incident are also being sanctioned, preparatory
to further necessary action.”
The statement further said Abba would not
condone any act of indiscipline, noting that any
person or group of persons caught acting
disorderly or abusing rights of members of the
public would not only be punished internally, but
would also be made to face the wrath of the
law.
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