Nigerian Police Assault Leaves US Citizen Hospitalized in Ibadan, Oyo State

Residents of Jogor Centre in Ibadan, Oyo State, have expressed their concern over the alleged assault of a 17-year-old boy who was hospitalised after being reportedly slapped by a police officer.

Witnesses claimed they could no longer remain silent about the incident, which happened on December 27, 2023, during the holiday season, especially after seeing some of the footage and photos they were able to capture at the time.

According to eyewitnesses, the victim and another person were riding a bike around the Jogor Centre when they were stopped by some policemen numbering up to five. Upon interrogation, one of the policemen was doing a video recording when the boy’s partner also began to do a video recording in case anything happened. Before they knew it, the officers had called the Divisional Police Officer at Iyaganku Police Station and brought more policemen.

The DPO came in a Lexus 470 jeep, and there were many with rifles. One of them tried to cock his gun, and his magazine even fell off. They took them to the station in their vehicle where they were beaten.

A source who knew the family of the victim told M10News that the boy and his brother who were slapped by the policemen were hospitalised and had been receiving treatment. The source also said that the policemen called him a fraudster because his look was different from theirs. The victim’s brother was also punched. The boy had never been beaten before, and policemen never beat them where they came from.

A 27-second video shared with M10News Metro by one of the eyewitnesses shows a police officer holding a phone suspected to be doing a video recording while some people were also seen charging at the policemen. One of the officers had Olanrewaju inscribed on his uniform. Another video sent to M10News an eyewitness who feared being named, as she said she was aware the officers were usually stationed in the area, showed fluid coming out from the ear of one of the victims.

The Oyo State Police Public Relations Officer, Adewale Osifeso, was contacted by M10News, and the videos and pictures were shared with him. He urged the victims to immediately petition the state Commissioner of Police, promising that the investigation would be swift.

An official in the state police command who is not authorised to speak said he wondered why the issue would degenerate to the point of slapping the victims. He added that it’s important to know why they slapped the boy irrespective of what transpired. Even if you’re profiling the person, there are many ways you can do your job as a policeman without causing problems. It’s important to know what the DPO also did upon hearing the matter.