On November 2, 2025, while rounding up my engagements in the ever-busy city of Lagos, my friend Christopher Chimezie Onyejekwe (popularly known as Humble Chris) and I decided to retire for the day.
After alighting from our booked ride, we began walking towards our street when a Toyota Sienna bus suddenly double-crossed us in a commando-style operation. Startled but calm, we held tightly to our belongings. Before we could say a word, armed men wielding AK-47 rifles—each with multiple magazines—forced us into the vehicle without identifying themselves or stating any reason for the arrest.
As we were driven off, I asked who they were. One of them barked, “When you get to where we are going, that your English won’t save you.”
When my friend’s phone rang, they immediately seized it. Another officer—an older man, likely in his late 50s—tried to snatch my phone. When I resisted, he landed an uppercut to my jaw, forcing me to surrender it.
Along the way, these men stopped repeatedly, abducting other innocent people in a similar manner. Some victims were beaten mercilessly, sustaining swollen eyes and other physical injuries.
After several minutes of chaotic driving, we arrived at a location I later identified as the Orile Police Station. There, all our belongings were confiscated, and we were thrown into a cell without any interrogation or explanation.
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As a tech professional, I managed to preserve some evidence to support my account. We remained incommunicado until the next morning—November 3—when they finally allowed us to make a call. Shockingly, like kidnappers, the purpose of the call was to get someone to pay money for our release.
When I repeatedly asked what our offence was, the only response I got was that we “kept late nights.” I challenged them to show me where the Nigerian Constitution forbids law-abiding citizens from exercising their right to free movement, but my words fell on deaf ears.
That night, our names were recorded by Inspector Mary Abimbola, whose conduct the next morning proved she was everything a police officer should never be—rude, unprofessional, and disrespectful, even to elders.
Another officer, known simply as Inspector Kally, was particularly brutal. Fair-skinned and slim, he is notorious for slapping and assaulting detainees at will. He even attacked those who came to bail my friend and me. His actions were inhumane, a stain on the image of the Nigeria Police Force.
I remain deeply grateful to Jabulani, Ebuka Sly, Akaeze Igbakwu, Bro Johnson, and the leadership of Oduade Market, Lagos, whose timely intervention and calls to higher authorities forced the station to release us hurriedly—before the DPO even resumed duty.
This unprofessional and unlawful conduct caused us significant financial and emotional damage. Our respective businesses suffered due to our sudden and unjust detention, cutting us off from our clients and operations.
I also reached out to the Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Abimbola Adebisi, but my calls and messages went unanswered.
This experience underscores the daily dangers faced by innocent Nigerians in the hands of corrupt officers within our law enforcement agencies. It is appalling and unacceptable.
To every officer of the law: be kind, be just, and uphold your oath of service. God, nature, and humanity always reward integrity. Don’t be like the bad eggs attached to Orile Police Station.
Cc: Nigeria Police Force
Date: November 5, 2025
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