Published 18th Sep, 2022

By Joseph Adeiye

Ridwan Oke, a Lagos-based lawyer, was assaulted by officers of the Lagos State Police Command on July 5, and the officers responsible are yet to be brought to book.

Oke had challenged the officers, who were from the Lagos Area C Command, when they caused a congestion while driving against traffic.

“Up till this very moment, the police is yet to produce, identify and cause an orderly room trial to be held against the police officers that brutalized me since 5th of July, 2022,” Oke tweeted on Saturday.

FIJ reported how the officers inflicted physical injuries on Oke and detained him in July.

“I was at the gate of my house while seeing someone off when I noticed traffic gridlock. From Ikorodu road to Oyingbo, there’s a road that leads to my street, and from there to 3rd Mainland Bridge is one-way,” Oke had said.

“Police officers arrested okada riders and put them in their van, and they were coming directly from the other end of the road. They blocked the road with their van, meaning nobody could move.

“There was an alternative route that leads out of that street, but they did not use it, instead they were asking people to move, and causing the gridlock.

“People were chastising them for breaking the law, and I joined in. The driver of the van said ‘you people should tell them to stop riding motorcycles’, and I replied that while they were condemning riders for breaking the law, they were also breaking the law.”

Oke made his abuse and detention known to the public via his social media pages. He wrote a complaint about the brutal treatment he was subjected to the following day and identified one DSP Sodiq Taiwo as the team lead of the erring officers.

“I officially lodged a complaint against the said officers on 6th July, 2022, at the Lagos State Command despite being on medication,” Oke tweeted on Saturday.

“I identified their team lead, one DSP Sodiq Taiwo. I provided two witnesses who wrote statements, I provided an audio recording of the incident and also provided videos of the said team passing through one-way. Instead, I was blamed for daring to tell police officers that they were driving through one-way when they were obviously not on an emergency.

“The last time I followed up with the IPO in charge of the case, he told me they had invited the officers involved but they had FAILED to report.”

FIJ called Benjamin Hundeyin, Lagos State Police public relations officer, on phone, but he failed to answer the call. Hundeyin had also not responded to a text sent to him at press time.

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