Couple who was Tortured by power-drunk cop, petitions IG, wants him punished

Ejeh Smith and his wife, Grace, have petitioned the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, over their alleged torture in the Lekki area of Lagos State.The family lawyer, Mr. A. Agbinya, of Agbinya Agbinya and Co, told PUNCH Metro that the family wanted the police corporal allegedly responsible for the act, Dada Ogunsanya, and the Ikoyi Divisional Police Officer, Mrs. Aisha Haruna, disciplined.

Agbinya, in the petition, dated December 8, 2014, copied the Assistant Inspector General of Police, Zone 2, Onikan, Lagos State; Lagos State Commissioner of Police; Provost Marshal, Nigeria Police, Kam Salem House, Lagos; and the Police Service Commission...

The petition is coming as Ejeh said he had gone to the state police headquarters in Ikeja to state his accounts of the incident.The police authorities had said though the erring policeman was already in detention undergoing an orderly room trial, the couple had refused to make statements to the police, which was frustrating investigations.PUNCH Metro had reported on Wednesday, last week, how Ejeh and Grace were allegedly tortured by Ogunsanya while they were on their way home in a cab.

Our correspondent had reported that Ogunsanya became angry after the couple protested after he beamed his torch on them while the inner lights of the cab were on.It was alleged that in a fit of rage, the police corporal hit Ejeh with the butt of his rifle in the eye and stepped on his wife’s stomach.

The Ikoyi DPO was alleged to have arrived at the scene and backed Ogunsanya’s action.The victims’ family lawyer in his petition said Haruna also threatened to frame-up the couple if they tried to press charges for their injuries.He said, “When the DPO saw the incident, rather than reprimand the drunken policeman, she requested our clients’ mobile phones amid several threats to deal with them with the full weight of her office if they failed to cooperate. She deleted all the video data therein for fear of the recordings that may be used against the erring policeman.

“To our clients’ chagrin and bewilderment, the DPO in charge of the Ikoyi Police Station threatened to frame-up our clients should they attempt to take any step to enforce their rights over the brutality unleashed on them by the drunken policeman under her command and in total disregard of the fact that Mr. Smith may never regain the use of his left eye.”Agbinya said the actions of both the policeman and the DPO undermined the constitutional rights and dignity of the victims and were a reckless use of power.He said the incident provided the IG an opportunity to purge the police force of officers working to bring the force into disrepute.“We urge your honourable office to exhibit stern resolute leadership in dealing with acts of gross indiscipline by the men and women of the Nigeria Police Force to restore our clients’ confidence in the police,” he added.Meanwhile, Ejeh told PUNCH Metro on Sunday that he had reported at the police headquarters.He said, “I went there on Friday to make statement and defend myself against the allegations against me. My wife and the taxi driver will be going to make their statements on Monday (today) as well.”