When contacted, Investigating Police Officer Ezra Nasiru responded angrily:
“Are you the one who recruited me into the police? Report me, go away, my friend.”
The Nigerian police in Ikeja, Lagos, have been accused of unlawfully detaining 19-year-old Point of Sale (POS) attendant Gafar Oluwaseun Babalola and threatening his family after they reported the case to SaharaReporters.
Gafar, who recently finished secondary school, was arrested over a suspicious transaction allegedly initiated by a third party and deposited into his employer’s account. Although his employer was released without charge, Gafar has remained in custody for four days.
Family members allege police demanded N800,000 or threatened to charge him to court.
“They told us to tell SaharaReporters to take down the report before they can release Gafar,” a relative said.
His distraught mother, a widow, appealed for intervention:
“My son is innocent. He was only working to make ends meet. I’m a widow with no means.”
When contacted, Investigating Police Officer Ezra Nasiru responded angrily:
“Are you the one who recruited me into the police? Report me, go away, my friend.”
The family has called on Inspector-General Kayode Egbetokun and Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu to investigate the case and secure Gafar’s release.
READ MORE AT SAHARA REPORTERS.