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3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery - Crime (2) - Nairaland

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Temitope Arowolo: Lebanon Was Hell, I Don’t Pray For Satan To Experience It / Boys Going For A Show In Lagos, Harassed By SARS For Driving Range Rover / Photoshop User, Ayothecreator Beaten By SARS For Strange Photos On His Phone. (2) (3) (4)

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Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Minjim: 6:27pm On Sep 02, 2018
Same thing happened to my sister .
The Next day the sars dogs arrested her i visited my lawyer cousin .

Fortunately , he knows an Oga in Sars. He called the man and complained to him .

We were planning on writing a petition to the Force headquaters the next day threatening them to charge her to court .

When i got to their office later in the evening , they offered to release her . They started complaining why i had to to go call their oga.

Those guys are scumbags

6 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Muzikluva(m): 6:28pm On Sep 02, 2018
Did this guy say he is leaving everything to God? How dumb? Sue the idiots and let them beg their ass out. They should pay for the gross indiscipline and unprofessionalism

4 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by chris31(m): 6:35pm On Sep 02, 2018
Naija don cast
We have to be careful of our whereabouts especially at nights coz nobody will be there to testify for u
Police is ur friend is the biggest scam in this country

2 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Kelvin30286063(m): 7:05pm On Sep 02, 2018
Please who knows this guy in person. I am ready to fund his case as long as he agrees to sue his accusers and the police. I'm serious. And I will provide the fund for any kind of lawyer he needs. Up to the Supreme Court if the case gets there.
He should reach me on 09033012548

13 Likes 3 Shares

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by FitnessHomme: 7:09pm On Sep 02, 2018
That is civil court issue. And it is only someone (or a company) that is well known to have money that it would be reasonable to do that. Once you sue a poor man in a civil court, he would just run away... why? Because you can't detain someone in a civil case. wink

However, he can petition the police that the Investigating officer was in on the scam so that he gets sacked.

AK6464:
Get a good lawyer, sue them and claim damages, it will save other would be victims because they'll be more careful with the trick
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Nobody: 7:09pm On Sep 02, 2018
If you're a Nigeria lawyer in any discipline on Nairaland and you're not on the phone first thing on Monday morning to this guy then you're a shame to the profession.

5 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by DavidEsq(m): 7:22pm On Sep 02, 2018
Foolish boy! angry Akpa lo lo. Ode! Mumu! Oshi! Stupid rat angry angry angry u no fit sue all of dem for Wetin dem do u, com collect millions 4 damages. Suffer kee u there. How person go get better chance to hama, com dey do like ode.

2 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by DavidEsq(m): 7:26pm On Sep 02, 2018
EgunMogaji:
If you're a Nigeria lawyer in any discipline on Nairaland and you're not on the phone first thing on Monday morning to this guy then you're a shame to the profession.
Shey na we go dey chase ambulance abi? Did u hear hi say he wished to seek remedy but can't do same due to poverty? angry. If I woze ur left there ehn, ur brain go reset. How do u expect a lawyer to b more serious than a clientg or potential client. He is just an Ode!

1 Like

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by DavidEsq(m): 7:26pm On Sep 02, 2018
EgunMogaji:
If you're a Nigeria lawyer in any discipline on Nairaland and you're not on the phone first thing on Monday morning to this guy then you're a shame to the profession.
Shey na we go dey chase ambulance abi? Did u hear hi say he wished to seek remedy but can't do same due to poverty? angry. If I woze ur left there ehn, ur brain go reset. How do u expect a lawyer to b more serious than a client or potential client. He is just an Ode!
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by DavidEsq(m): 7:28pm On Sep 02, 2018
Kelvin30286063:
Please who knows this guy in person. I am ready to fund his case as long as he agrees to sue his accusers and the police. I'm serious. And I will provide the fund for any kind of lawyer he needs. Up to the Supreme Court if the case gets there.
He should reach me on 09033012548
Na today?

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by NoToPile: 7:31pm On Sep 02, 2018
I cringe anything that has to do with the Nigerian police.

They can Frame anybody anything anywhere.

That's how my cousins son and friend were going to pick up his sister who gave birth, they were stopped at Igando bustop and their offence was that my cousins friend wore jalabia over camo , something like that. That was when those militants /oil bunkering stuff was rampant there.

Next thing they were at the police station, thank God his mum got ther on time they sat both of them on the ground with other people, placed some stuffs in front of them and wanted to take a picture shocked their mum said they must snap her with them oo started crying.

Last last they collected 20k to release them.

Offence we don't know, next thing maybe we would have seen his pictures online as an armed robber. That's why I don't believe most of these pictures they show as robbers.

My advise when it comes to this their matter, ensure it doesn't even get to their station at all or else it's another matter.

2 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by foreshore(m): 7:34pm On Sep 02, 2018
EmagNig:
An instrumentalist, Temitope Adeyemi, who was framed up by SARS operatives for robbery, spent three months in Kirikiri Medium Prison where he described as Hell.

Adeyemi who shared his experience with Gbenga Adeniji of The Punch explained that the Police refused to make a thorough investigation before taking him to court.

What job do you do?

I am an instrumentalist and I am from Osun State.

What happened the day you were arrested by the police?

On May 23, 2018, I attended a choir vigil at my church in the Ifako area of Lagos. After the vigil the next day, I decided to rest well and I left the church around 11am to my house in Amikanle, AIT area, Alagbado, Lagos. I took a tricycle. As I alighted from the tricycle, I discovered that my phone battery was low. I decided to go to a friend’s shop close by to charge it before going home. He operates a gaming centre and I also used the opportunity to play with him.

After about an hour in the shop, two men and a woman came and asked me to come out that they wanted to see me. I initially didn’t answer them because I was busy. I later noticed that the two men with the woman were a youth leader in the area and a man who collects money from commercial buses at the bus stop. But I don’t know the woman. They left and returned about 15 minutes later. I left the shop and went to meet them to know why they wanted to see me.

What did they tell you they wanted to see you for?

The men said the woman told them that some people came to rob in their house on the Monday of that week and that she recognised me as one of the robbers. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t instantly comprehend the allegation.

She said the person wore a green T-shirt. When I composed myself after the initial shock, I told her that I could not do such a thing and that I was even at home throughout with my mother on the Monday she mentioned. I also said I don’t have a green T-shirt. It was like a dream to me. She also said her husband was not at home the day of the incident.

As she was talking, a man appeared from nowhere and he started shouting, “That is him. That is the guy.” I later learnt that he was the husband of my accuser.

I was speechless as he spoke. I couldn’t understand how the husband, whom the wife just said was not at home when a phantom robbery happened, could say I was a thief that came to their house. I was prepared to follow them anywhere especially as I was the only one defending myself in their midst.

I left my bag containing about N2,000, a toothbrush, bathing soap and some clothes which I took to church. I followed them to Amikanle police post and when we got there, the officers there directed us to the police station along the AIT road.

When we got there, the DPO didn’t hear from me. He kept saying that I should speak the truth and return two phones and a laptop which the woman said I stole. He stated that I would soon confess if I was well handled. I insisted that I was innocent and that I wasn’t a robber. I told him that I was an instrumentalist and didn’t even know the woman or where she lives.

I expected the police officer to hear me out and carry out an investigation. As the DPO spoke, the woman’s husband said that he should not worry that he had called SARS officers to come and take me away. I didn’t know what to do at that point as I was in tears.


What later happened?

About an hour later, two men came in a van and introduced themselves as officers of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad. They ordered me to put off my shirt and used it to blindfold me. They also put handcuffs on my hands and legs. They said they were taking me to their office in Ikeja. As we made to leave, my accuser’s husband told the policemen that I dropped a big bag at the shop and that it contained guns and about N360,000. They led me to the place and when they checked the bag, they saw that it contained N2, 000, a toothbrush , bathing soap and some clothes.

They arrested a lady in my friend’s shop where the people earlier came. She was asked to enter the van and we all went to their office. They said on the way that they would buy a rope which they would use to hang me in their office. But they couldn’t buy any as they said the ones they saw were not strong enough. When we got to their office, we were asked to write statements and we did. We just started crying. By that time they had removed the handcuffs on my leg and the blindfold.

Someone offered to buy the lady food but she said she was not hungry because she was fasting. She was later released because I didn’t see her anymore.

On the next day, I was ordered to lie down on a long bench and one of them used the flat side of a cutlass to beat me on my bare back. Each time I fell off the bench, I commanded to lie on the bench again facing down. I cried my eyes out. On the third day, they took me to a room upstairs and each person, who passed by, asked me what I did. They would say I was a robber and the person would kick, beat and punch me. I initially thought I was going to die. I always told them that I was not a robber that I never stole from anyone. On that day, my pastor and mother came and they stopped beating me before they allowed them to see me. But I was too weak to say anything.

When did they take you to court?

It was later that the investigating police officer came to tell me to have a bath that I was dirty. He also bought food for me within the premises. On my first day in court, my accuser and the IPO didn’t show up. I was charged with armed robbery.

I was also not granted bail and asked to be taken in a Black Maria to the Kirikiri Medium Prison. I was really happy the day I was granted a bail. But I was still trying to meet the bail conditions when the Directorate of Public Prosecutions legal advice came that I should be released.

As you can see in the copy of the legal advice, the DPP noted that the police didn’t investigate any of what I said. It further added that, “This office shall not proceed against the suspect based solely on the doubtful identification of the suspect. Consequently, the doubt raised should be resolved in his favour.”

I was released from prison on August 24. I spent three months in detention on trumped-up charge. I headed straight to church. I was not feeling fine and still sickly till now.

How would you describe your experience in prison while awaiting trial?

It was as if I was in hell on earth. It was not a good experience at all. I have never experienced such a thing before. I always prayed to God that He should please see to my release because I was innocent. I served as the assistant pastor in the cell where I was placed. We prayed every day. I prayed that God should save me from false accusation since I was coming from his house the day my accusers accosted me.

What lessons did you learn from the experience?

I learnt lots of things. I discovered that I have to be more careful and calm. It was not that I wasn’t calm or careful before now, but I saw reasons to do that more. I cannot in my life think that someone could just accuse me of what I didn’t do.

I have yet to understand why they did that to me but in all, I thank God. I learnt that it is a new gimmick where someone would just identify another person at random that he partook in a phony robbery in their house. They will then invite the police and name a particular amount which would cover the said stolen items. Once you are able to pay, they let you off the hook else they say you would go to court.

I recall that they kept asking me to pay N360,000 which my accusers said was the cost of two phones and laptop they said were stolen. But I couldn’t pay for what I didn’t steal. I was in court thrice and neither the IPO nor my accusers showed up. I was unjustly beaten and locked up. I leave all to God.

Is there anything you want to say?

I want to really thank PUNCH for its stories on the matter when it went viral on the Internet. I also appreciate Betty Abah of CEE-HOPE who stood by us during the travail and a legal aid NGO, Gavel, that worked on the case. I thank God immensely for sending all these people to me during my time of urgent need.

How are you feeling now?

I am just getting better. The tests I did at a hospital in Ogba area of Lagos on August 27 showed that I have a perforated ear drum and an injured arm and shoulder.

https://lailasnews.com/3-months-in-prison-was-hell-man-framed-up-by-sars-for-robbery/

lalasticlala

Man's inhumanity to Man
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by romenna: 7:38pm On Sep 02, 2018
savio93:


Warn that colleague or report to the authorities in the office.
the staff was employed tru MDs wife. So untouchable.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by ccollins(m): 7:52pm On Sep 02, 2018
AK6464:
Get a good lawyer, sue them and claim damages, it will save other would be victims because they'll be more careful with the trick
he can contact me as well
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by nuclearboy(m): 8:02pm On Sep 02, 2018
When Karma knocks, people will feel sorry for them
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Welllilo: 8:06pm On Sep 02, 2018
And the so called SARS won't be question, and arrested
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Goalnaldo(m): 8:07pm On Sep 02, 2018
Kelvin30286063:
Please who knows this guy in person. I am ready to fund his case as long as he agrees to sue his accusers and the police. I'm serious. And I will provide the fund for any kind of lawyer he needs. Up to the Supreme Court if the case gets there.
He should reach me on 09033012548
like seriously??
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Emperornice: 8:25pm On Sep 02, 2018
EmagNig:
An instrumentalist, Temitope Adeyemi, who was framed up by SARS operatives for robbery, spent three months in Kirikiri Medium Prison where he described as Hell.

Adeyemi who shared his experience with Gbenga Adeniji of The Punch explained that the Police refused to make a thorough investigation before taking him to court.

What job do you do?

I am an instrumentalist and I am from Osun State.

What happened the day you were arrested by the police?

On May 23, 2018, I attended a choir vigil at my church in the Ifako area of Lagos. After the vigil the next day, I decided to rest well and I left the church around 11am to my house in Amikanle, AIT area, Alagbado, Lagos. I took a tricycle. As I alighted from the tricycle, I discovered that my phone battery was low. I decided to go to a friend’s shop close by to charge it before going home. He operates a gaming centre and I also used the opportunity to play with him.

After about an hour in the shop, two men and a woman came and asked me to come out that they wanted to see me. I initially didn’t answer them because I was busy. I later noticed that the two men with the woman were a youth leader in the area and a man who collects money from commercial buses at the bus stop. But I don’t know the woman. They left and returned about 15 minutes later. I left the shop and went to meet them to know why they wanted to see me.

What did they tell you they wanted to see you for?

The men said the woman told them that some people came to rob in their house on the Monday of that week and that she recognised me as one of the robbers. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t instantly comprehend the allegation.

She said the person wore a green T-shirt. When I composed myself after the initial shock, I told her that I could not do such a thing and that I was even at home throughout with my mother on the Monday she mentioned. I also said I don’t have a green T-shirt. It was like a dream to me. She also said her husband was not at home the day of the incident.

As she was talking, a man appeared from nowhere and he started shouting, “That is him. That is the guy.” I later learnt that he was the husband of my accuser.

I was speechless as he spoke. I couldn’t understand how the husband, whom the wife just said was not at home when a phantom robbery happened, could say I was a thief that came to their house. I was prepared to follow them anywhere especially as I was the only one defending myself in their midst.

I left my bag containing about N2,000, a toothbrush, bathing soap and some clothes which I took to church. I followed them to Amikanle police post and when we got there, the officers there directed us to the police station along the AIT road.

When we got there, the DPO didn’t hear from me. He kept saying that I should speak the truth and return two phones and a laptop which the woman said I stole. He stated that I would soon confess if I was well handled. I insisted that I was innocent and that I wasn’t a robber. I told him that I was an instrumentalist and didn’t even know the woman or where she lives.

I expected the police officer to hear me out and carry out an investigation. As the DPO spoke, the woman’s husband said that he should not worry that he had called SARS officers to come and take me away. I didn’t know what to do at that point as I was in tears.


What later happened?

About an hour later, two men came in a van and introduced themselves as officers of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad. They ordered me to put off my shirt and used it to blindfold me. They also put handcuffs on my hands and legs. They said they were taking me to their office in Ikeja. As we made to leave, my accuser’s husband told the policemen that I dropped a big bag at the shop and that it contained guns and about N360,000. They led me to the place and when they checked the bag, they saw that it contained N2, 000, a toothbrush , bathing soap and some clothes.

They arrested a lady in my friend’s shop where the people earlier came. She was asked to enter the van and we all went to their office. They said on the way that they would buy a rope which they would use to hang me in their office. But they couldn’t buy any as they said the ones they saw were not strong enough. When we got to their office, we were asked to write statements and we did. We just started crying. By that time they had removed the handcuffs on my leg and the blindfold.

Someone offered to buy the lady food but she said she was not hungry because she was fasting. She was later released because I didn’t see her anymore.

On the next day, I was ordered to lie down on a long bench and one of them used the flat side of a cutlass to beat me on my bare back. Each time I fell off the bench, I commanded to lie on the bench again facing down. I cried my eyes out. On the third day, they took me to a room upstairs and each person, who passed by, asked me what I did. They would say I was a robber and the person would kick, beat and punch me. I initially thought I was going to die. I always told them that I was not a robber that I never stole from anyone. On that day, my pastor and mother came and they stopped beating me before they allowed them to see me. But I was too weak to say anything.

When did they take you to court?

It was later that the investigating police officer came to tell me to have a bath that I was dirty. He also bought food for me within the premises. On my first day in court, my accuser and the IPO didn’t show up. I was charged with armed robbery.

I was also not granted bail and asked to be taken in a Black Maria to the Kirikiri Medium Prison. I was really happy the day I was granted a bail. But I was still trying to meet the bail conditions when the Directorate of Public Prosecutions legal advice came that I should be released.

As you can see in the copy of the legal advice, the DPP noted that the police didn’t investigate any of what I said. It further added that, “This office shall not proceed against the suspect based solely on the doubtful identification of the suspect. Consequently, the doubt raised should be resolved in his favour.”

I was released from prison on August 24. I spent three months in detention on trumped-up charge. I headed straight to church. I was not feeling fine and still sickly till now.

How would you describe your experience in prison while awaiting trial?

It was as if I was in hell on earth. It was not a good experience at all. I have never experienced such a thing before. I always prayed to God that He should please see to my release because I was innocent. I served as the assistant pastor in the cell where I was placed. We prayed every day. I prayed that God should save me from false accusation since I was coming from his house the day my accusers accosted me.

What lessons did you learn from the experience?

I learnt lots of things. I discovered that I have to be more careful and calm. It was not that I wasn’t calm or careful before now, but I saw reasons to do that more. I cannot in my life think that someone could just accuse me of what I didn’t do.

I have yet to understand why they did that to me but in all, I thank God. I learnt that it is a new gimmick where someone would just identify another person at random that he partook in a phony robbery in their house. They will then invite the police and name a particular amount which would cover the said stolen items. Once you are able to pay, they let you off the hook else they say you would go to court.

I recall that they kept asking me to pay N360,000 which my accusers said was the cost of two phones and laptop they said were stolen. But I couldn’t pay for what I didn’t steal. I was in court thrice and neither the IPO nor my accusers showed up. I was unjustly beaten and locked up. I leave all to God.

Is there anything you want to say?

I want to really thank PUNCH for its stories on the matter when it went viral on the Internet. I also appreciate Betty Abah of CEE-HOPE who stood by us during the travail and a legal aid NGO, Gavel, that worked on the case. I thank God immensely for sending all these people to me during my time of urgent need.

How are you feeling now?

I am just getting better. The tests I did at a hospital in Ogba area of Lagos on August 27 showed that I have a perforated ear drum and an injured arm and shoulder.

https://lailasnews.com/3-months-in-prison-was-hell-man-framed-up-by-sars-for-robbery/

lalasticlala

I would really appreciate if you're able to get the identity of your accusser so we can make them pay for deformation of character, what they did is criminal.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Buffalowings3(m): 8:26pm On Sep 02, 2018
princetigris:
Mr Man keep quiet.







Easier said than done.
Shut up

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Hozil92(m): 8:37pm On Sep 02, 2018
AK6464:
Get a good lawyer, sue them and claim damages, it will save other would be victims because they'll be more careful with the trick
Sue who? the police or the accusers?
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by mchenryking0(m): 8:39pm On Sep 02, 2018
I pity the young man. I can't just imaging how the accuser's will feel now knowing that someone suffered unjustly
To the police and the magistrates that always that don't use their head to carry out their duties, there is always a time of reckoning. The same person who you all wrong today unjustly don't forget.
To the young man all I can tell is that it is well
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Born2Breed(f): 8:39pm On Sep 02, 2018
No one is safe. Just imagine how this guy suffered and would have died due to the rot in the Nigeria Police.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by JeffreyJames(m): 8:54pm On Sep 02, 2018
What about the woman and husband that accused you wrongly? What happened to them?

1 Like

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by RealEstatePlus(m): 8:56pm On Sep 02, 2018
Nawa ooooh.
So sorry for your travails
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Rawshal(m): 8:56pm On Sep 02, 2018
This story is giving me headache. What kind of shithole country is this? This country is really Bleep up. No one is even save anymore all because of money.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by seborrhic: 9:09pm On Sep 02, 2018
Starke:
This is bullshit. You have to bring a malicious prosecution suit against those bastards who wrongly identified you. Call me 0706 958 6495.
I am amazed that he is said he is "just grateful to God" and that is that about the matter.
A couple falsely and clearly accused you of not just being a mere thief,but an armed robber,you come out of prison after the DPP has also so found the accusation to be false and u can't have the mind to sue the couple for a start!
Nigerians are damn meek and that is the whole basis of why we are still backwards as a people.
I bet if this guy had any kind of nerve with an average lawyer,that couple would be so embarrassed by the level of apology they have to publicly render and the amount of compensation they have to pay,that they would be rendered penniless,homeless and destitute by the time he is through with them.
The NGO'S too should have gone further by doing a follow up on the couple.
False accusation as far as I know is also a major criminal offence,apart from the civil recompense to be paid to the victim.

2 Likes

Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Nobody: 9:13pm On Sep 02, 2018
EmagNig:
An instrumentalist, Temitope Adeyemi, who was framed up by SARS operatives for robbery, spent three months in Kirikiri Medium Prison where he described as Hell.

Adeyemi who shared his experience with Gbenga Adeniji of The Punch explained that the Police refused to make a thorough investigation before taking him to court.

What job do you do?

I am an instrumentalist and I am from Osun State.

What happened the day you were arrested by the police?

On May 23, 2018, I attended a choir vigil at my church in the Ifako area of Lagos. After the vigil the next day, I decided to rest well and I left the church around 11am to my house in Amikanle, AIT area, Alagbado, Lagos. I took a tricycle. As I alighted from the tricycle, I discovered that my phone battery was low. I decided to go to a friend’s shop close by to charge it before going home. He operates a gaming centre and I also used the opportunity to play with him.

After about an hour in the shop, two men and a woman came and asked me to come out that they wanted to see me. I initially didn’t answer them because I was busy. I later noticed that the two men with the woman were a youth leader in the area and a man who collects money from commercial buses at the bus stop. But I don’t know the woman. They left and returned about 15 minutes later. I left the shop and went to meet them to know why they wanted to see me.

What did they tell you they wanted to see you for?

The men said the woman told them that some people came to rob in their house on the Monday of that week and that she recognised me as one of the robbers. I was dumbfounded and couldn’t instantly comprehend the allegation.

She said the person wore a green T-shirt. When I composed myself after the initial shock, I told her that I could not do such a thing and that I was even at home throughout with my mother on the Monday she mentioned. I also said I don’t have a green T-shirt. It was like a dream to me. She also said her husband was not at home the day of the incident.

As she was talking, a man appeared from nowhere and he started shouting, “That is him. That is the guy.” I later learnt that he was the husband of my accuser.

I was speechless as he spoke. I couldn’t understand how the husband, whom the wife just said was not at home when a phantom robbery happened, could say I was a thief that came to their house. I was prepared to follow them anywhere especially as I was the only one defending myself in their midst.

I left my bag containing about N2,000, a toothbrush, bathing soap and some clothes which I took to church. I followed them to Amikanle police post and when we got there, the officers there directed us to the police station along the AIT road.

When we got there, the DPO didn’t hear from me. He kept saying that I should speak the truth and return two phones and a laptop which the woman said I stole. He stated that I would soon confess if I was well handled. I insisted that I was innocent and that I wasn’t a robber. I told him that I was an instrumentalist and didn’t even know the woman or where she lives.

I expected the police officer to hear me out and carry out an investigation. As the DPO spoke, the woman’s husband said that he should not worry that he had called SARS officers to come and take me away. I didn’t know what to do at that point as I was in tears.


What later happened?

About an hour later, two men came in a van and introduced themselves as officers of the Federal Special Anti-Robbery Squad. They ordered me to put off my shirt and used it to blindfold me. They also put handcuffs on my hands and legs. They said they were taking me to their office in Ikeja. As we made to leave, my accuser’s husband told the policemen that I dropped a big bag at the shop and that it contained guns and about N360,000. They led me to the place and when they checked the bag, they saw that it contained N2, 000, a toothbrush , bathing soap and some clothes.

They arrested a lady in my friend’s shop where the people earlier came. She was asked to enter the van and we all went to their office. They said on the way that they would buy a rope which they would use to hang me in their office. But they couldn’t buy any as they said the ones they saw were not strong enough. When we got to their office, we were asked to write statements and we did. We just started crying. By that time they had removed the handcuffs on my leg and the blindfold.

Someone offered to buy the lady food but she said she was not hungry because she was fasting. She was later released because I didn’t see her anymore.

On the next day, I was ordered to lie down on a long bench and one of them used the flat side of a cutlass to beat me on my bare back. Each time I fell off the bench, I commanded to lie on the bench again facing down. I cried my eyes out. On the third day, they took me to a room upstairs and each person, who passed by, asked me what I did. They would say I was a robber and the person would kick, beat and punch me. I initially thought I was going to die. I always told them that I was not a robber that I never stole from anyone. On that day, my pastor and mother came and they stopped beating me before they allowed them to see me. But I was too weak to say anything.

When did they take you to court?

It was later that the investigating police officer came to tell me to have a bath that I was dirty. He also bought food for me within the premises. On my first day in court, my accuser and the IPO didn’t show up. I was charged with armed robbery.

I was also not granted bail and asked to be taken in a Black Maria to the Kirikiri Medium Prison. I was really happy the day I was granted a bail. But I was still trying to meet the bail conditions when the Directorate of Public Prosecutions legal advice came that I should be released.

As you can see in the copy of the legal advice, the DPP noted that the police didn’t investigate any of what I said. It further added that, “This office shall not proceed against the suspect based solely on the doubtful identification of the suspect. Consequently, the doubt raised should be resolved in his favour.”

I was released from prison on August 24. I spent three months in detention on trumped-up charge. I headed straight to church. I was not feeling fine and still sickly till now.

How would you describe your experience in prison while awaiting trial?

It was as if I was in hell on earth. It was not a good experience at all. I have never experienced such a thing before. I always prayed to God that He should please see to my release because I was innocent. I served as the assistant pastor in the cell where I was placed. We prayed every day. I prayed that God should save me from false accusation since I was coming from his house the day my accusers accosted me.

What lessons did you learn from the experience?

I learnt lots of things. I discovered that I have to be more careful and calm. It was not that I wasn’t calm or careful before now, but I saw reasons to do that more. I cannot in my life think that someone could just accuse me of what I didn’t do.

I have yet to understand why they did that to me but in all, I thank God. I learnt that it is a new gimmick where someone would just identify another person at random that he partook in a phony robbery in their house. They will then invite the police and name a particular amount which would cover the said stolen items. Once you are able to pay, they let you off the hook else they say you would go to court.

I recall that they kept asking me to pay N360,000 which my accusers said was the cost of two phones and laptop they said were stolen. But I couldn’t pay for what I didn’t steal. I was in court thrice and neither the IPO nor my accusers showed up. I was unjustly beaten and locked up. I leave all to God.

Is there anything you want to say?

I want to really thank PUNCH for its stories on the matter when it went viral on the Internet. I also appreciate Betty Abah of CEE-HOPE who stood by us during the travail and a legal aid NGO, Gavel, that worked on the case. I thank God immensely for sending all these people to me during my time of urgent need.

How are you feeling now?

I am just getting better. The tests I did at a hospital in Ogba area of Lagos on August 27 showed that I have a perforated ear drum and an injured arm and shoulder.

https://lailasnews.com/3-months-in-prison-was-hell-man-framed-up-by-sars-for-robbery/

lalasticlala


better sue dem to court. ewu
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by mechanics(m): 9:20pm On Sep 02, 2018
Nawa o, false accusations now rampant, police men should make sure they do their job thoroughly.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by udemzyudex(m): 9:26pm On Sep 02, 2018
I hate that word, I leave everything to God, I'm not saying you should go and fight or do anything illegal, if you have the money sue the police and the accuser.

Useless police force.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by udemzyudex(m): 9:30pm On Sep 02, 2018
princetigris:
Mr Man keep quiet.







Easier said than done.

Naa you keep quiet and stop posting trash if you have nothing reasonable to post.
Re: 3 Months In Prison Was Hell - Man Framed Up By SARS For Robbery by Btruth: 9:35pm On Sep 02, 2018
savio93:


That's if he knows the woman and her husband sef
the case file should still be at the police station or with SARS office.

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