Police free Ekiti woman brutalised at checkpoint

Ekiti State Police Command has freed Mrs Toyin Adeyeye,the American returnee  who was arrested and detained by the Command  after being  brutalised for refusing  to bribe policemen at a checkpoint.
A  family source confirmed this in Ado Ekiti on Sunday.
He said that the woman was released to her husband late Saturday night on administrative bail.
According to the source, Toyin’s husband, Akanni Adeyeye  has taken her  to a private hospital in Ado Ekiti for the treatment of bruises on her body, as well as the trauma she suffered in the hands of the police.
Toyin and her two-month-old baby, Heritage, along with her brother, were detained from Friday up till Saturday night, before being released.
Mr Abdullahi Chafe, the Ekiti state police commissioner accused  Toyin of slapping one of his men at a checkpoint  and tearing his uniform.
Chafe spoke in a reaction to the social media outrage against the policemen for brutalising the woman.
Chafe said Toyin  committed the  offence at the checkpoint when she was  asked to prove the ownership of the car in which she was being driven.
“Those people slapped my policeman on duty and tore his uniform. Uniform is an authority and what those people did was against the law and it is not good for a civilian to slap a policeman
“It is not good for somebody to prevent a law enforcement officer from carrying out his lawful duty, somebody wearing the uniform? It is not about his age but the authority he carries, I don’t allow my men to do something contrary to the law
“I don’t want a woman to be detained with baby or with pregnancy, I don’t want an old woman or a minor to be detained. I have taken note of this and we will take the right action on the matter as investigation continues”, he said.
The husband of the woman, Mr Akanni Adeyeye refuted the police claim, saying his wife and her brother were  beaten up and detained for refusing to offer bribe to the policemen at the checkpoint.
He told newsmen that about five policemen on duty at the checkpoint beat them up before taking them to the New Iyin Police Station where they were detained.
He said the police also impounded the black Kia Picanto car with registration number LAGOS FKJ 221 EE conveying them.
He claimed that the policemen requested for vehicle particulars and driver’s licence of his brother-in-law who drove the car and found them to be up to date.
Governor Ayodele Fayose has meanwhile, called for an independent enquiry over the incident.
After being beaten, Mrs. Adeyeye’s face and back show scars from the manhandling by the policemen.
After the beating, she and her baby, including her younger brother, Adeniyi Dada were detained. The Kia Picanto   that Dada was driving was also impounded.
Her husband said he was shocked to discover that  the police gave a different version of the incident that  his wife narrated to him.
He believed that  the policemen cooked up the story that his wife slapped one of them and tore his uniform.
This was the second attack by security agents against a woman in Nigeria.
On March 12, a woman in Lagos, Ruth Orji, was also attacked by soldiers at Odogunyan in Ikorodu area.
The military authorities said they have arrested six soldiers who were involved in the attack, while lawyers to the woman said they had sued the military authorities and asked for  N250 million in damages.