Lagos Artistes Accuse Police of Extortion, Homosexual Harassment

Two Lagos-based artistes, David Marvellous and Damilola Oladimeji, have accused some personnel of the Lagos State Police Command of alleged extortion and homosexual harassment.

it was  learnt that the artistes were returning home on July 28, 2020, after buying food when policemen from the Langbasa Police Station allegedly accosted them in their estate at Badore, in the Ajah area of the state.

Correspondents learnt that after their arrest, the policemen went round the estate, apprehending innocent residents while threatening to shoot anyone who resisted them.

Marvellous, who alleged that one of the policemen homosexually harassed him, stated that the cop also slapped him on the face when he (Marvellous) queried his action.

Read Also: Breaking!!! APC to Atiku, PDP: Account for Failed $460m Abuja CCTV, $2bn China Loan

He alleged that the cops released them the following morning after collecting N10,000 for bail.

Marvellous said, “My friend and I went out to buy food around 10.30pm. On our way back, we were accosted by strange armed men in a van. They were in mufti and had guns. Because we had never seen or experienced anything like that before in the estate, the first thing that came to our mind was to run.

“We ran and they chased us. They caught up with us, collected our phones and bundled us into their van. We later realised that they were policemen when they kept pointing their guns in our faces and threatening that they could end our lives right there.

“The policemen questioned us. But when we tried to respond, we received severe beatings. It was almost like each time we said a word, it was followed with hot blows and slaps, so we kept mute. They went on to raid a hotel in the estate and arrested almost everyone in it, including the manager. The team leader, Sunday, kept smiling and saying he had discovered a new spot to raid.

“When we got to the police station, we asked for our phones so that we could inform our families of our arrest. They refused and told us that we were going to sleep in the cell that night.

“One of the male officers molested me sexually while searching my body. He touched my private parts and when I challenged him, he slapped me twice on the face. We were taken to the office of the team leader in the morning and we were given our phones to call our families to come and bail us. My friend called his manager, who bailed us out with N5,000 each.

“I have been limping since this attack and can’t go out at night again because I will be scared; I don’t feel comfortable outside when it’s dark.”

The state Police Public Relations Officer, Bala Elkana, said he would get back to Correspondents, but had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.
The victims are calling on the police authorities to investigate the matter and bring the erred police men to book.