Published 26th Nov, 2021

By Yakubu Mohammed

Emmanuel Ikechukwu, a student of Abia State University, has narrated how officers of the Eziama Police Station, Abia State, arrested and tortured him, after branding him a fraudster.

Emmanuel and his girlfriend, Esther, were returning to school on November 20 when police officers manhandled him at Aba Park and whisked him to their station.

“When we arrived at the Aba Park, one of them came to me and started asking me where I worked,” Emmanuel narrated. “Why would you just come, asking me where I work and pointing a gun at me?”

When Emmanuel could no longer endure the harassment, he started calling for help.

“Before I knew it, his colleagues arrived at the scene, accusing me of instigating mobs against them,” he told FIJ. “The incident created unrest at the park because onlookers were stoning them before they whisked us away.”

When they arrived at the station, the police asked Emmanuel to bail himself and his girlfriend, but he told them he had no money with him.

“I called many people but could not get help from them. Then, I called my uncle who later came to the station to bail us with N125,000,” he said. “The police did not allow him to transfer the fund into their account. He was taken to a POS center to make the transaction.”

Geoffrey Ogbonna, the Abia State Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), did not respond to calls and messages sent to him to hear his comment on the incident.

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