A disturbing case of police brutality has been brought to the fore after a 30-year-old woman, Oluchukwu Ezemaduka was hospitalised at the West Care Specialist Hospital in Akowonjo, Lagos, after she was allegedly pummeled by a riot policeman, Idiahgbe Iyobosa.
Oluchukwu, a roommate of Iyobosa’s girlfriend, was said to have been repeatedly kicked in the jaw by the crazed cop until blood gushed out.
According to Punch, Iyobosa had visited his girlfriend, Maryjane Anyagwa, in Ejigbo on Saturday, January 21, at about 9pm, with a view to passing the night at her place, but met only Oluchukwu at home.
Incensed at her absence and Oluchukwu’s insistence that she didn’t know her whereabouts, the policeman unleashed his fury on the roommate until she found herself in the hospital.
“I was not in the room when he came. As I was about to enter the room, I felt that somebody was there; I got a torch from a neighbour and shone it in the room. That was when I knew it was him. He had scattered everywhere,” the victim said from her hospital bed.
“He asked me where his girlfriend was, I didn’t answer him. He asked me the second time and I told him that I didn’t know her whereabouts. He kicked me several times with his boots, breaking my jaw. He brought out a dagger and chased me outside. It was people, who saved me.
“The pain is too much for me. The doctor said I would undergo surgeries this week.”
The missing girlfriend, Anyagwa, later said she was done with him as their relationship was marred with threats and harassment.
“He usually assaults me too. Most times, he would not notify me that he would pass the night in my place. He would threaten to deal with me if I report him to the authorities or quit the relationship. I was afraid,” she said.
“We started dating each other about a year ago. I later knew that he is married with two kids. The wife had warned me to stay away from her husband.”
Oluchukwu’s father, Mike Ezemaduka, who is based in Abuja, expressed shock on seeing the condition of his daughter, adding that she needed the sum of N700,000 for surgery.
“The lower jaw was broken. We were told that she would no longer be able to chew if she didn’t undergo the surgeries, which will cost about N700,000. The policeman’s relatives have promised to pay the bill,” he said.
Iyobosa is currently under arrest at the Ejigbo Police Station where “discreet investigation” is going on.
