A power drunk Divisional Police Officer, DPO, in charge of the Pen Cinema Police Division, Lagos State, H.E. Nwabuisi, has done the unthinkable as he led a team to raid adherents in a mosque.
H.E. Nwabuisi, has been accused of conducting raids during which he allegedly arrested innocent residents and extorted money from them.
He was alleged to have led his men to Alimi Ogunyemi Street, in the Ifako Ijaiye area, where some Muslim faithfuls, who had just finished praying in a mosque, were allegedly rounded up around 8pm on Wednesday.
The team was said to have taken all the suspects to the Pen Cinema Police Station, where about 37 arrested residents were forced to pay money for bail.
Victims paid as high as N30,000 for bail
One of the victims, Sheriff Aranjure, said the policemen called the victims out from the cell one by one, adding that they demanded N15,000 bribe from each person to release them.
Sheriff said his elder brother, Ibrahim, bargained with the DPO through a police sergeant, adding that Ibrahim paid N30,000 for three arrested Muslims. He said;
“Our mosque is in front of our house. We had just observed Ishai (8pm prayers) and were in front of the mosque when the policemen from the Pen Cinema Police Station appeared. They had a task force van, a Black Maria and four other vehicles.
“Before they got to the house, they had arrested some people. When they got to the front of the mosque, they stopped a motorcycle rider and arrested him and his passenger.
“The man that led the team was the DPO of the Pen Cinema Police Division. The name on his tag is H.E. Nwabuisi. He came to where we were and asked what we were doing outside. We told him that we were in front of our house and we had just finished praying in the mosque.
“He ordered some of the policemen to take us into the Black Maria. We asked what we did wrong. When I tried to resist, the DPO dragged me by the shirt and tore my clothes. They took three of us into the Black Maria.”
Sheriff’s brother, Ibrahim, who allegedly paid N30,000 for the bail, said he was lucky to have escaped arrest.
Another victim, Adams, described the conduct of the DPO as unprofessional, saying the harrassment of the residents was unwarranted.
The state Police Public Relations Officer, CSP Chike Oti, confirmed that there was a raid in the area, but denied that the DPO extorted money from those arrested.
