Ejigbo torture: Police parade victims, 10 suspects

 

The Force Headquarters on Tuesday in Lagos paraded 10 people, including a woman for torturing three women over alleged theft of  pepper at Oba Morufu International Market in Ejigbo, Lagos.

The force Spokesman, Frank Mba, paraded the suspects at the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad (FSARS), Adeniji-Adele Police Station, Lagos. He also paraded two of the victims.

He said that the suspects had passed through identification process, where victims identified the suspects and their roles in the incident.

"The suspects will be charged with murder, indecent assault, extortion and conspiracy," Mba said, adding that the police had declared  four others alleged to be  involved in the case wanted.

He said that a team of detectives from FSARS, led by a Deputy Commissioner of Police, Chris Ezike, conducted the  investigation that led to the arrest of the suspects paraded.


Mba said that two of the three victims accused of the theft were young girls while the third was the girls’ mother.

He said that some men alleged to be members of the Oodua People’s Congress employed to be providing security at the market tortured and dehumanised  the victims.

He said that some  market association officials extorted  various sums of money  from the father of the victims to regain their freedom.

"One of the victims, Juliana Agoma, a national of the Republic of Benin, had been taken back to Cotonou by her father where she subsequently, died from injuries sustained from  the torture."

Mba commended the human rights groups, the Lagos State Ministry of Justice and its Office of the Public Defender (OPD), for their assistance.

The Director of the ODP, Omotola Rotimi, urged the police to return the case file after investigation to the Ministry of Justice’s  Directorate of Public Prosecutions to prosecute the suspects.

She assured the victims and members of the public justice in the case.

Also, Dr Joe Oke-Odumakin, President of Women Arise for Change, commended the police, the Lagos State Government, the State House of Assembly and other groups for showing interest  in the case.

The human rights activist who condemned the use of jungle justice in Nigeria, urged the police to ensure that justice was done to the case.

"Jungle justice pays no one. Members of the public must rise against it. Anybody can be a victim if not stopped," she said.

One of the victims, Ajoke Agoma, who spoke in Yoruba, thanked the police, the State Government, non-governmental organisations  and civil society groups for coming to their aid.

The video of the stripped victims went viral on the Internet last  November and drew nationwide condemnation.

This prompted Oke-Odumakin's group and other civil society groups to stage a protest march to the Lagos State Secretariat  and the state's House of Assembly for intervention.

The assembly, subsequently, set up a committee to investigate the matter and  the Lagos State Police Command  arrested three persons before FSARS took over.