How Lagos Police unlawfully held a 17-year-old OAU student for 20 days

*We determined that he had been abducted, his mother adds.

A year after #EndSARS demonstrations in major Nigerian towns, police violence continues to be a daily occurrence in the lives of young people in Africa's largest economy.

For Oluwaferanmi Moses, a first-year student at the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) studying Mechanical Engineering, his experience in police detention from September 19 to October 8 was similar to that of many other young Nigerians who have been unjustly profiled and brutalised by police personnel.

Moses was apprehended at Mushin on his way to his workshop, where he fixes vehicles during the vacations, by personnel from the Lagos State police force assigned to Zone B command.

"That Sunday morning, I went to Festac to inspect a Range Rover. I had finished with my job on the Range; just a few tasks remained," Moses said. "I needed to return to my business in Mushin to get some tools to finish the job. I was unaware that a battle was taking on in Mushin. As a result, I rode my bike from Sadiku in Illasa to my store."

"After retrieving my equipment and returning to Festac, there was no bike available, so I started trekking; I spotted some people fleeing and had to flee when I heard police officers firing.

"Suddenly, police officers stopped in front of my house, and all I heard was 'hold him.' I demonstrated my equipment and educated them about the job I perform. The guy who was holding me then released me, but the DPO assigned to Zone B, one officer Garba, who supervised the operation, ordered my detention and beat me up while my tools were thrown away."

Moses was detained with 15 other individuals. They were held for five hours before being moved to Ikeja's Area F Command.

Moses said that he was moved from Ikeja to Ijede in Ikorodu. Moses maintained that the order to relocate him to Ijede came directly from Lagos State Commissioner of Police Hakeem Odumosu.

"When the Commissioner of Police came around that day, he instructed me to 'go and dump them off at Ijede.'" Area N Command is headquartered at Ijede.

"I spent twenty days in Ijede jail. I became so ill that the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) was compelled to transport me to the closest public hospital. That is when the DPO informed me that the CP had forgotten about us in jail."

Mrs Moses, Feranmi's mother, said that her son was moved to three different jails before she learned of his whereabouts.

When her son failed to come home on the day he was detained, she first assumed he had been abducted.

"When it was 8 p.m. and I anticipated him to come home, I became concerned and started calling his number, but the phone kept ringing with no one answering," Mrs Moses said.

"This prompted me to shout out to my neighbours, telling them that my son had gone for work and had yet to return. On Monday, September 20, I called his number repeatedly until about 4 p.m., when the phone went dead."

She learned of his arrest from someone who went to check on a kid who had been detained.

Mrs Moses said that Feranmi had begged with the parent and requested communication with his mother.

She said that on October 8, an officer identified as SP Taiwo at Area F in Ikeja wanted N80,000 to ensure Feranmi's release. Her son was never prosecuted.

Cash-strapped and fearful for her son's safety and health, she pleaded with the judge to accept N50, 000.

"We begged with them for N50,000, but they refused. He was ill, and we did not want him to be in prison any longer, as we did not want him to die in custody. That is why, in order to ensure his release, we had to pay the money they demanded in cash," Mrs Moses said.

Conscious of the possibility of being traced if the money was given electronically, the police officers requested cash payment.

Moses was released from prison on Friday after the monetary payment. However, the police officers wanted another payment before returning his phone to him.

On Tuesday, he was finally refunded for the phone.

Meanwhile, Adekunle AJisebutu, the Lagos State police spokesperson, told The Guardian that he was unaware of Moses' arrest.

He cautioned, however, against providing money to police officers, stating that "under the law, both the donor and the recipient are responsible." It will not suffice to pay a bribe and then complain."

Ajisebutu said that he "would do everything possible" but that police may be unable to identify the errant officials due to the absence of financial records demonstrating that the officers got the alleged sum.

"I've always encouraged individuals to file a complaint before paying money to police for bail because after money is paid, it's often very difficult to get it back. Obviously, if there is no proof, it would be rejected," Ajisebutu said.

"As soon as an officer demands payment, you should raise an alert and contact the police. It is not sufficient to make an accusation; the onus is on the one making the claim to assert. If the transaction occurred through POS or bank transfer, it would be very simple for us to ensure that the money is returned."

Culled from: https://guardian.ng/news/how-17-year-old-oau-student-was-arrested-illegally-detained-for-20-days-by-lagos-police/