By Bayo Akinlade Esq
Nigerian Police On Raids Indiscriminately Arresting Citizens For Wandering and Trumping Up Charges Against Innocent Citizens: What is the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and the Judiciary Doing About it?
Duty Solicitors Network (DSN) has recently being inundated with complaints from the families of some young people who have been arrested by the police. Today, 7th May 2024, we received the complaint below:
“My name is Abdulwahab Bakare. I have a friend who resides at No 6 Moshalashi Street, Alakuko. His name is Mr Bamgbola. Yesterday Police from Alakuko Division went on a raid around Moshalashi Area, entered his compound and arrested 7 boys ranging from 14 to 16 years of age. Since yesterday at about 8pm, the boys were detained and their parents could not even have access to them.
On getting to the station this evening DPO of the Division, one CSP Toyosi Shokunbi 08037168410 told me she cannot grant them bail as they were arrested with hard drugs. My friend, whose 2 sons were equally arrested said it was a lie, they were NOT smoking; some of them were eating, sleeping and lounging in the compound when the police trooped in.
I spoke with the IPO before going in to see the DPO and he reported that the main person they were pursuing was apprehended already and that the boys were just victims of the raid as they were neither smoking or dealing drugs when they were arrested.
DPO is still refusing to release the teenage minors and as we speak they are still in detention at Alakuko Division. More so, their names were not listed on the Police Notice Board and the DPO said that she is waiting for CP’s tactical squad and Task Force BEFORE she can take a decision.
The 7 Minors are Ayomide 14, Sheriff 15, Pelumi 14, Ismail 14, Mubarack 15, Saliu 16, Ezekiel 15. The Police refused to allow them be fed or even see their parents from that yesterday till now.” Can someone enlighten me under which law the Nigerian Police operates?
I was recently informed by another victim of this ‘Police Raid’ business that many young people are arrested on the streets, taken to the oshodi taskforce office and asked to pay 20k each for their release. Those who don’t have this money are detained as long as possible and then sent to the Mobile Courts on trumped up charges and fined or sent to prison.
One such case recently happened where a 22 year old was recently sent to jail with no option of fine and it wasn’t until he entered prison that his family knew about his arrest, prosecution and incarceration.
Is the Judiciary helping the police to do injustice? Is the judiciary through it’s mobile court required to bring in revenue for the State Government? Is the Ministry of Justice in Lagos State under some sort of mandate to bring in a certain amount into the coffers of the State treasury? Do the Mobile Courts have a financial target to meet?
These and many more questions remain unanswered.
What are our youths supposed to do in this economy, no electricity, no fuel, no jobs etc…now we want to take their freedom away and lock them up in congested correctional facilities where they will be dehumanized and made worse than they were before they entered.
This has to stop!
Bayo Akinlade Esq
Convener
DSN
