An Osogbo-based lounge owner, Adeyemi Adekunle, has accused an officer of the Osun State Police Command, simply identified as the second-in-command of the Officer in Charge of Anti-Robbery squad, of subjecting him to brutality without justification.
Adekunle, who spoke to journalists in Osogbo on Thursday, said he had a minor disagreement with the said policeman, who had come to his lounge last Friday, and from there, he was arrested and whisked away to the Criminal Investigation Department at Osun Police Headquarters, where he was allegedly brutalised.
But in a swift reaction, the state police command, after confirming receipt of the complaint, said the officer involved was being investigated.
The lounge owner, who showed journalists scars of open wounds he sustained after being allegedly beaten with a cutlass by the police, further explained that the officer who ordered his arrest did not mention the actual offence he committed.
“On October 31st, around 5.30pm, one customer came into the lounge to purchase shawarma, and he later went to the manager to discuss an issue. I don’t know what he was discussing with my manager.
“Along the line, I saw three staff members gathering with him. So I went there and I told them not to gather like that.
“I said if anything happens, please talk to my manager, let the staff go back to their post. But the customer said no. Those three staff should not go. I said three staff cannot be idle that time that customers are waiting for them. He asked me if I knew who he was, and I said I didn’t know,” Adekunle said.
After that incident, Adekunle said the customer returned with some police operatives who “pointed at me and demanded that I sit on the floor. I asked what I had done wrong. When I refused, they forcibly pushed me into a police vehicle and took me to the state CID.
“They took me to the anti-robbery squad, where they demanded I remove my clothes and slippers. I was beaten with cutlass and stick without being informed of my offence.
“They began to beat me with a stick and a cutlass. I was asking them what my offence was, but they continued to hit me without explanation. Then, later asked me to go.”
Reacting to the incident, Osun Police Command’s Public Relations Officer, Abiodun Ojelabi, said the matter has been reported.
Ojelabi added, “We are just aware of the matter. In fact, on the day of the incident, I was called when it happened on Friday, and it was on Monday when I got to the office that I made the inquiry about it.
“The authorities have decided to have full-scale investigation into the matter, to know what really happened in the matter.
“So we are still on the matter. We are investigating, and between now and tomorrow, even presently, the officer is under investigation; he knows what he is feeling right now.”
(Punch)