The Independent Service Delivery Monitoring Group, ISDMG has appealed to the Inspector-General of Police, Mr Solomon Arase and the National Human Rights Commission, NHRC, to intervene in an alleged case of brutality by officers of Oyo State Police Command on a certain woman, Mrs Adegbite Damilola, said to have lost her pregnancy due to police brutality.
According to Mr Chima Amadi, ISDMG Executive Director, Damilola lost her first pregnancy after 10 years of marriage following the malevolent treatment she was subjected to.
While briefing newsmen on Friday in Abuja, Amadi said the incident occurred on August 11, 2015 at Akobo Police Station, Ibadan.
He said, “The actions of the police at all stages breached legally established procedures for arrest and detention. The police breached the legal requirement that a person to be arrested must be promptly informed of his or her offence.
“The police also violated the victim’s constitutional right not to be treated in a manner that degrades her human dignity. She was subjected to malevolent treatment after the police already presumed her guilty and began to mete out punishment to her.
“Going by the reason which the police later gave for their unlawful arrest and maltreatment of the victim, her offence could not be anything more than malicious damage,” Amadi added.
The victim, on her part, said she requested to know why she was being arrested and the police woman left and came back with re-enforcements.
“On August 11, 2015, a female police officer from Akobo Police Station, came to arrest me at my residence in Ibadan. On arrival at the police station, I was told I resisted arrest, hence, they would locked me up.
“I sought to call my husband but the officers got infuriated and started beating me. I was kicked in the stomach and I started bleeding and was dragged into a cell.
“I fainted in the cell and I was taken to a hospital where the doctors confirmed I had lost my pregnancy.”
The ISDMG, however, demanded that a public apology be tendered to the couple, among other things.
Amadi said, “A reasonable compensation should be paid to the victim, notwithstanding, no amount of money can bring back the couple’s lost child after ten years of waiting.
“Adequate punishment be meted out to the officers involved, and the information should also be made public.
“The charge brought against the victim should be withdrawn by the police,” Amadi added, urging the IGP to also use this to demonstrate his commitment to wiping out abuse of power and brutality in the police.
“We also urge the Executive Secretary, NHRC, to intervene in the matter and personally pursue this case to a logical conclusion by ensuring that justice is manifestly done,” Amadi said.
Amadi said that the police brutality was unwarranted and unjustifiable and called for appropriate disciplinary measures.
He said that the Oyo State Commissioner of Police (CP) had held meetings with the parties involved to facilitate the resolution of the case. Amadi also appealed to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) to ensure that the victim got justice.
DSP Adekunle Ajisebutu, the Police Public Relations Officer, Oyo State Police Command, while confirming the incident, said “I can assure you that the victim will get justice.
“The CP has ordered an investigation into the matter,” Ajisebutu said.
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