Wrongfully Detained: My Experience At The Police Station

Being apprehended wrongfully is one of the most rampant issue in my home country Nigeria, it bothers me a whole lot how the men on uniform can't even make a due investigation before wrongfully detaining an innocent person, this goes to show how incompetent they are towards their civil duties.

It hurt at some point that you're not guilty in any way and yet they still find an excuse to apprehend and detain you more than 24 hours without questioning and sometimes you just can't understand why, it's really a bad omen for the modern society we are living in where surveillance cameras should be seen everywhere.

On the 10th of January, 2024, I was wrongfully apprehended and detained by members of the Nigeria Police Force without a reasonable evidence. It all happened that my landlord had begged me to use my system and edit some videos which I reluctantly gave out because I don't always want to share my gadgets with anyone.

He took the system out for over 4 days and never returned it, I was beginning to get scared because of the jobs even uncompleted ones I had on that system,I called to know why he never brought my system back, he was giving me excuse upon excuses, it never even add up. On the 9th of January 2024, I called again and asked for it, he told me point black that he was never giving me the system again.

I was shocked and angry at the same time, I had to inform his elder brother and his mother, none of them gave me an answer of what to do. So when my landlord came back that night, I had to approach him to ask if he could get me my Labtop, he gave me a punch on the eye, I ran, he even pursued me with matchet, I had to leave the house.

On coming back home that night after everywhere has calmed, I told him I never wanted the system again, he called his police friends and that night I was apprehended and detained till 10th of January, no statement was taken from me, the condition of the cell worsened everything as there was no toilet to ease one self, so all you do is to stool, urinate and eat at where your own corner which worsened my health condition.

They broke my mobile phone and still did not apologize even after finding out I wasn't at fault or hurt anyone in any way. But they till find a way to extort me of #15000 naira which is equivalent to 36 hive. And they were too full of pride that they never even apologized to me even after seeing I was already getting seriously sick.

This act alone makes me believe that I am just a fraction out of so many people these guys have been detaining for years wrongfully and yet they are claiming to be doing their jobs, how will you do your jobs with so much insensitivity and unapologetic nature even when you are at fault? Does this security uniform define you opposite of what humanity should? I am having nightmares because of this experience and just as I am praying that every person detained wrongfully should be released and justice prevail.