A legal practitioner, Olamide Timothy Olaniyi, has recounted his ordeal in the hands of some officers of the Nigerian Police Force, who allegedly assaulted him at the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja on Wednesday.
Olaniyi, who works with Platinum & Taylor Hill LP, a leading law firm in Nigeria, said he visited the station to inquire about a client who was detained since last month. However, he was greeted with insults and threats by some armed officers, who told him that “not all cases lawyers handle.”
Olaniyi said he initially left the station out of fear, but later returned after some other officers assured him that he could make his inquiries.
He continued that, as soon as he entered the station, he was attacked by the same officers, who beat him “mercilessly,” leaving him “with a swollen face and torn clothes.”
Olaniyi narrated his experience on his X profile, @Timo_Olamide, where he also tagged the state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin and the Nigerian Police Force.
He wrote, “Good morning @Lagos_PoliceCRU, @PoliceNG @BenHundeyin. I am Timothy Olamide Olaniyi, a lawyer from Lagos.
“I am contacting you in respect of the merciless beating I received from a police officer at the Lagos State Police Command in Ikeja this morning.
“I went there on behalf of my colleague to find out about a client who was arrested sometimes last month but only for me to get there and was beaten like a condemned criminal. One of the officers told me that not all cases lawyers handle. I went there with all manner of respect and humility.”
The state Police Public Relations Officer, Benjamin Hundeyin, responded to his tweet, asking him to provide the details of the section of the station, the name of the officer involved, or to report the case directly to the state police Complaint Response Unit, which is located in the same premises.
Hundeyin wrote, “Which section? What’s the name of the police officer? Or simply come over to @Lagos_PoliceCRU. It’s in the same premises.”
Meanwhile, Olaniyi’s law firm has issued a statement, condemning the brutal assault on its associate by the Nigerian Police Force and demanding the identification and prosecution of the officers responsible within 7 days.
The statement, signed by the Managing Partner, Olalekan Ojo, said the incident was a violation of Olaniyi’s fundamental rights and an affront to the rule of law.
The statement reads, “We are deeply saddened and appalled by the egregious act of violence perpetrated against one of our esteemed associates, Olamide Timothy Olaniyi, by officers of the Nigerian Police Force.
“On Wednesday, March 6th, 2024, Olamide Timothy Olaniyi was viciously beaten by members of the Nigerian Police Force within the premises of the Lagos State Police Headquarters.
“This reprehensible act not only violates his fundamental rights to dignity and freedom of movement, as enshrined under Sections 34 and 41 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 (as amended) but also strikes at the core of the rule of law.
“We express our sincere appreciation to Mr. Ben Hundeyin, the Public Relations Officer of the Lagos State Police Command, for his swift response to this matter. However, we are deeply disappointed by the statement attributed to the Commissioner of Police, Fayoade Adegoke Mustapha, who scolded our associate for bringing attention to the incident on social media.
“Platinum & Taylor Hill LP firmly believes that transparency and accountability are essential pillars of a just society.
“We demand that the officers responsible for this despicable act be identified and prosecuted within 7 days. This demand is not only in line with the principles of the Nigerian Police Act but also essential for upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens.”
The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has also condemned the incident and demanded justice. The Chairman of the NBA Security Agencies Relations Committee (NBA-SARC), Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Chukwuka Ikwuazom, revealed that initial police preliminary investigations into the matter appear to show that the officer responsible for the assault might be a member of a team of policemen from the Anambra and Imo State Police Commands, who had come to Lagos to take custody of suspects arrested in Lagos.
He said, “I am pleased to inform you that the Commissioner for Police, Lagos State, has taken decisive steps in response to this incident. In light of the preliminary investigations, the Commissioner has directed all the members of this team of policemen from the Anambra and Imo State Police Commands to present themselves at the Lagos State Police Headquarters in Ikeja tomorrow morning to be paraded to enable Mr. Olamide to identify the officer who assaulted him.”
He also said that the NBA-SARC would arrange for one of its members to accompany Olaniyi to the identification parade of the officer, and that the NBA-SARC would continue to take all necessary steps to ensure that all lawyers are free from assault, threats, and intimidation while serving their clients.
The incident is not the first of its kind involving lawyers and policemen in Lagos. In December 2023, a 36-year-old lawyer, Olumide Sonupe, was hospitalised after he was allegedly detained by the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) of Moshalashi Police Station in the Alimosho area of Lagos State. In January 2024, hundreds of Nigerian lawyers drawn from all the five branches of the NBA in Lagos took to the streets in protest against police brutality on lawyers and other Nigerians. The lawyers also vowed to file a fundamental rights suit against the police for the unlawful detention and harassment of their member, Sonupe.
