Lagos woman secures bail after being detained with men in same cell
A woman named Real Omo has alleged that officers from the Lagos State Police Command detained her and other women in a single cell with men at the Maroko Police Station in Lekki, Lagos State.
In a viral video shared by user Oyindamola (#dammiedammie35) on X.com, she described how she and the other women were apprehended while walking in an undisclosed area of Lekki, expressing her shock over the situation.
“Men and women are together in the cell, and there are even young children with us. We don’t know what to do. Please, come to our aid. We are at the Maroko Police Station and need help right now,” she pleaded.
“Last night, they picked us up and arrested us. They said we couldn’t walk because they were conducting a raid. How was I supposed to know there was a raid in Lekki? I’m a victim. Please, this is Real Omo speaking. They said I’m going to prison—for walking at night? This is too much to bear. Does this make sense?” she asked.
The video also showed an open roof and broken parts of the cell wall.
In response to the tweet, Lagos State Police Command spokesperson Benjamin Hundeyin refuted the woman’s claims. In a tweet posted on Monday, Hundeyin clarified that the individuals were kept in a “holding area” where they were visible to officers on duty at the charge room.
He explained that once individuals are moved into the main cell, they are separated by gender and are not allowed to use mobile phones.
Hundeyin wrote, “That is a holding area where they are visible to officers on duty at the charge room (counter). Once they move into the proper cell, they are separated, and they would not even have their phones with them.”
However, in an accompanying video shared by Hundeyin, five men and five women were seen facing the wall.
The officer in the video stated, “This is an open cell. These are children who have been roaming the streets and ran away from their homes. The residents of Lekki brought them to the station, and most of their parents had already collected them. They were only kept in an open cell at the back of the charge room.”
The video also showed the charge room, with the officer explaining that the individuals in question “chose” to stay along the passage leading to the male and female cells.
Proofreading by Uchechi Ojo, Sub-editor at Neptune Prime.
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