A London returnee, Yewande Abiodun, has accused some operatives of the Anti-Robbery Squad attached to the Adekunle Police Station of demanding N100,000 from her for alleged indecent dressing.
PUNCH Metro learnt that Abiodun, who came into the country on Sunday, went out with a friend on Tuesday when the Uber car they were in was flagged down by the policemen at the Akowonjo area of Lagos State. The cops asked the ladies to come down from the car and accused them of indecent dressing.
Although the cops allegedly demanded N100,000 from Abiodun and her friend, the victims were reportedly freed after paying N10,000.
Abiodun, an up and coming artiste, said she had yet to recover from the shock.
She said, “Around 11.30pm on Tuesday, we were going home in an Uber when we were stopped by some policemen around Akowonjo. They flashed a torch into the car and asked us to come down.
“They searched us and when they did not find anything incriminating, except the money in my bag, they started harassing us, saying that they would take us to a police station.”
She explained that she asked the policemen what their offence was and was told that they were indecently dressed.
The victim, who noted that she wore a T-shirt and a short, while her friend was equally well-clothed, said she was surprised at the allegation.
“I told them that we were not naked and moreover we were in a private car. But he said when we get to the station, we will explain ourselves.
“When the policemen took us into their van, I could not breathe well because I am claustrophobic. I asked if I could come down to breathe properly, but they said I was fine since I was not sweating.
“I told them to allow me to call my male friends to come down to discuss with them. I don’t live in Nigeria, so I don’t know how it works here. But they said that if my friends should come, they would take us to the Anti-Cultism Squad at Surulere,” she added.
Abiodun said the policemen later demanded a bribe of N100,000 from her and her friend.
“I told them that the amount that was inside my bag was N10,000. But they insisted that they could not wait for my friends and threatened that they would take me to the station where I would be dealt with.
“They had driven us a little further when I told them to stop; this time round, they stopped and one of them said I should quickly give them what I had and they would let me go.
“I gave them the N10,000. However, by this time my friends had arrived. One of the policemen said if they had known that I had such high caliber of friends, they would have charged me more,” she said.
The artiste said one of the policemen, who wanted to date her, gave her his telephone number.
She explained that with the use of a phone application, True Caller, she got his name as Dele Ale.
Abiodun, who noted that the experience left her traumatised, said she had decided to return to the UK on Thursday (today).
She called on the police authorities to give her justice.
The Lagos State Police Public Relations Officer, SP Chike Oti said he was not aware of the complaint.