Four police men stripped Naked

Photo: 4 Policemen Strip Naked,
Torture Woman over Stolen iPad
in Lagos
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A trader in the Balogun Market, Lagos State,
Karamat Eleha, has accused four policemen
attached to the Special Anti-Robbery Squad,
Lagos State Command, of torturing her for
allegedly stealing an iPad.
.
The device was said to be the property of a
woman in the Ajah area of the state, who was
robbed in May, 2015.
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The policemen, led by one
Abiola (aka Abbey), had, while searching for the
iPad, reportedly stormed a two-storey building in
Idumagbo, Lagos Island, where Eleha lives with
her mother. It was learnt that she was not at
home when the search commenced.
.
According to PUNCH Metro, the team searched
residents’ apartments, but did not find the item.
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As their mission continued, Eleha, who was said
to have gone for the fellowship in the
neighbourhood,
arrived home and was asked about the iPad.
Eleha said:
.
“Around 10.20pm on May 14, I just
returned home from a fellowship when the
policemen asked me about a missing iPad
and I told them I knew nothing about it.
They checked my bag, but nothing was
found there.”
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According to Eleha, the cops insisted that they
were getting signals from a tracker, adding that
the device was within the compound.
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When the cops insisted on checking an office in
the same compound where Eleha’s house is
located, the cops could not gain entry because
the door was locked.
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Eleha said she went to collect the keys to the
office from a pastor who owns the office. She had
gone to a nearby street, Ojo Giwa Street, to
collect the keys.
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“On getting back, they said their tracker
showed that the iPad was around the
streets I passed through to the pastor’s
house,” she said.
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PUNCH Metro learnt that the officials
subsequently whisked away the 29-year-old
woman to the command headquarters, where she
was reportedly stripped naked and tortured. She
continued:
.
“They took me to a room which they
called ‘theatre’. They stripped me naked
and tortured me for hours. When the pain
became unbearable, it occurred to me that
I saw a neighbour, Mr. Goriola (Baba Ibeji),
giving an iPad to his wife while I was
going out in the morning on the fateful
day. I told them and they went to arrest
the wife that same night.
.
The following
day, Baba Ibeji was arrested.
When they realised that I was bleeding,
they took me to a nurse, who charged
them N3,000.
.
They later gave the nurse
N1,000 to treat me.”
Eleha was released two days later on May 16 after
a resident sent a text message to the
Commissioner of Police, Kayode Aderanti.
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The resident, who did not want his name in print,
described the action of the police as appalling.
He said:
.
“They stormed our compound like night
marauders. They said they were from
SARS. They were led by one Abiola,
popularly called Abbey. They said they
were looking for an iPad and that a tracker
indicated it was within our building. They
wanted to break into the office downstairs,
but I cautioned them to wait till daybreak
for the occupants to come. We were on it
when Eleha returned from the fellowship.
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I told Karamat to go and get the key from
the occupant. When she came back, they
said the tracker had suddenly indicated
the iPad was no longer within the building;
that it was going towards Princess and
Alkatama streets, where Karamat passed
through to collect the key. Even after Baba
Ibeji was arrested, they refused to release
her. That was why I sent a text message
to the commissioner.”
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Eleha’s mother, Islamiyat, said a former Officer in
charge of SARS, Abba Kyari, was shocked when
he saw the legs of her daugher and ordered that
she be released immediately. She said:
“Her legs were fractured. That Saturday, it
was an officer called Abba Kyari, who
ordered them (the cops) to release her
immediately. He shouted when he saw the
wounds.
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From there, we took her to a
clinic in our area and she was given
injections and drugs. When her condition
did not improve, we went to the Lagos
Island Health Centre. On June 2, I took her
to a ‘bone centre’ but I could only afford
the bill for treating her left leg. I want her
to be treated by the police.”
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The Lagos State Police spokesperson, DSP
Kenneth Nwosu, however, exonerated the cops
from the act. He added that she was only invited
to the station for interrogation. He said:
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“An iPad was stolen and was traced to
her compound. It was observed that the
iPad was on the streets she (Eleha) passed
through and she was invited to the
station. There was no issue of torture. I
don’t know what torture she is talking
about.”