Adekunle Adeyemi Taofeek, also known as Scotty Aluta, Lagos coordinator of Take It Back (TIB) Movement, narrated the incident in a statement made available to Sahara Reporters on Wednesday.
A student of Lagos State University (LASU), Onikosi Hammed, has reportedly been brutalized and tortured by officers of the Nigeria Police Force attached to the Festac Division in Lagos for standing against oppression.
Adekunle Adeyemi Taofeek, also known as Scotty Aluta, Lagos coordinator of the Take It Back (TIB) Movement, narrated the incident in a statement made available to SaharaReporters on Wednesday.
“I received a call around past 7 pm yesterday from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Southwest PRO, Comrade Kuku Isaiah Eromidayo, who told me some men of the Nigeria Police Force attached to Festac Division, Lagos, brutally assaulted a LASU student, Onikosi Hammed, on the allegation that he stood against oppression by men of the Nigeria Police,” Taofeek said.
Taofeek explained that he immediately contacted the Commander of Area E to express his displeasure over the treatment of innocent citizens by officers under his jurisdiction.
Following his intervention, the Area Commander ordered the victim to visit his office the next morning to identify the officers responsible for the assault.
“He (the Area Commander) requested the victim of the brutality to see him in his office this (Wednesday) morning by 10 am to identify the officers who brutally assaulted him.
“The victim met with the Area Commander alongside the NANS Southwest Coordinator and some students of Lagos State University (LASU). Officers were identified; they were made to write statements, and the Area Commander ordered that they should be detained to face disciplinary action,” he said.
Taofeek commended the prompt response of the Area Commander, ACP Nwachukwu Eburujua, describing it as the policing Nigeria needs.
He also recalled a previous encounter where officers attempted to extort a young man but were stopped after he intervened.
“I had an intervention with him some weeks ago where some policemen within the same jurisdiction accosted a young man and were trying to extort the sum of N50,000 from him without finding anything incriminating on him. I put a call through to him, and he ordered for the boy’s release without paying a dime,” he said.