Residents of Ebute Ero in the Ibafo area of Ogun State have said their community is under siege.
They alleged that riot policemen deployed in the area to combat suspected pipeline vandals had been harassing and torturing innocent residents and traders.
The residents called on the state government to caution the officers before things degenerated.
It was gathered that Ebute Ero Street leads to the creek where the vandals had their base and since last week, mobile policemen from Eleweran, Abeokuta, had been bombarding the area.
However, residents of the street said they were living in fear as the riot policemen had become uncontrollable.
Large News was told that a resident, identified only as Aunty Blessing, was severely beaten by the officers on Monday and had been hospitalised.
A resident, Mrs. Adeyemi Boluwatife, said the officers stormed the street around 10am on Tuesday and ordered traders to close their shops.
She said, “We wanted to open for business again this morning (Tuesday) when the officers started chasing people. They asked us to close our shops. Passersby were beaten and one of them was even asked to roll inside a mud.
“Yesterday (Monday), they flogged a woman with a horsewhip so much that she was hospitalised. The harassment has been intense. Last week Friday, they harassed some ladies by pressing their breasts and buttocks. They said the girls were girlfriends of the pipeline vandals.”
She said hunger was taking its tolls on most families because business activities had been shut down in the community.
Large News gathered that residents of the area were living in fear as the policemen sometime threw tear gas canisters into the street, which created confusion.
A community leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said some residents were injured during a melee which trailed one of such cases.
He said, “Some people were injured after the policemen threw tear gas canisters to cause confusion even when the vandals were not in sight. The vandals have remained in the creek and instead of going to face them, the police have been making life difficult for innocent people like us. What we don’t understand now is why they kill our goats and chickens to eat at will and nobody can question them.”
Another resident and opinion leader said a pupil who was going to school was stopped by the officers and her cardigan thrown into the gutter.
He explained that the pupil was punished for allegedly being rude.
“When I heard about the case, I went to see the Ibafo Divisional Police Officer, who promised to buy the girl another cardigan. While the DPO handled the matter maturely and diplomatically, the surprising thing was that the policemen concerned were drinking alcohol in the man’s office and did not even show any remorse for their action,” he added.
The resident said he had already written to the Commander of the Ogun State Mobile Police Force, Bode Ojajuni, decrying the excesses of the officers, adding that he had yet to get a feedback.
But the Police Public Relations Officer, Ogun State Command, Muyiwa Adejobi, denied the allegations, saying they were intended to distract the ongoing fight against vandals in the community.
He said, “The allegations are baseless and unfair. It is a psychological projection to get public sympathy and dislodge the policemen. We have strong indications and intelligence that most of the dwellers are with vandals in the dirty business of vandalism.
“We will remain in the area to fight the hoodlums to a standstill. The Ogun State Commissioner of Police, Abdulmajid Ali, has addressed the men and warned them to be professional and civil in their operations. We have arrested many vandals in the area since we deployed men there and we will arrest more.”
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