Police Officers attached to Onipanu Police Station, along Otta/Idiroko road, Obasanjo Farm area, Otta, Ogun State are accused of illegal arrest, detention and extortion of Mr. Olufemi Timothy, a member of the Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN).
A human rights group, the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ) reached out to Within Nigeria in a bid to expose the alleged fake case created at at Onipanu Police Station to extort an innocent resident of the State.
Within Nigeria gathered that Timothy was illegally arrested on 9th of January and detained by a Police Officer Ogbonna (Mrs.) over a trump-up allegation of raping.
Timothy was accused of raping one 8years old Faith who resides at No 3,Saidi Adeleke Crescent, Baby-Ooo bustop,Otta town but Timothy was released on bail on 11th of January,2020 around 7:19 p.m when he confronted the Police Officers with the request of hospital report on the subject matter and where the Police change the tune of the fake allegation to begin the negotiation with him and his two sureties.
Timothy was not release free, the officers collected #25,000 as bail fee from his two sureties identified as Messers Oladipupo Akinniyi and Babatunde Lawal, both were also leader and members of Vigilante Group of Nigeria (VGN) of BORE-HOLE Unit office, Otta Zone in the State.
According to the Centre for Human Rights and Social Justice (CHRSJ), it was learnt that the purported allegation of raping leveled against Timothy was orchestrated by a man called Daddy Faith in collaboration with Police Officer Ogbonna because both of them were family members from the same town and also aide-in-crime.
It was also gathered that this has been the way of Daddy Faith and Ogbonna to always alleged the people of the area, who had an encounter with him of raping his daughter (Faith) on many occasions and Officer Ogbonna used to be Daddy Faith collaborator in this criminal activities as a way to extort their victims which Timothy happened to be one of them now.
Ogbonna who happened to be Divisional Crime Officer 1(DCO1), had directed the IPO of the illegal case to ensure the collection of sum of #150,000 from Timothy and his two sureties for the settlement of the case in order to avoid being transferred the matter to Court by Thursday (today), adding that Ogbonna gave them the option of paying #50,000 each.
According to CHRSJ, The victim and his two sureties could not stay in their various home again since Monday because of the threat from these unprofessional Police Officers.
After an independent investigation conducted into the activities of these men of Nigeria Police Force (NPF) in their station, it was also learnt that where they did this illegal duty, were not covered by their jurisdiction but because they have been notorious in this criminal way of assignments, for hiding under the guise of being an officers of the Force to perpetrate many evils in the environs.
It was further learnt that the said Police Officers had been notorious in the habit of using all the illegal money collected from their victims to buy Okada,Trycycle popular known as Keke Marwa,Mazda 323 and 626 and so on as Installment (insoliment) for drivers in the area.
CHRSJ’s Executive Chairman, Comrade Adeniyi,Alimi Sulaiman urged the Police authourities in the Country to give close monitoring to some of its officers and men in the area because if not checkmated on time, they may cause disrepute to the Force.
Sulaiman also advised the new Commissioner of Police in charge of Ogun State to conduct independent investigation into the allegations levelled against his men in the area in order to confirm the truth of the matter, adding that such an investigation should not be through proxy under the guise of Public Relation Department, so as to purge the Force of corrupt officers like Ogbonna.
