Nwafor Okafor
Naval officers torture Anambra nursing mother , take her N1,000 over traffic violation

A nursing mother, Esther Obiechina on Thursday narrated how some Naval personnel at Uga junction, in Onitsha, Anambra State allegedly tortured her and took the only N1, 000 on her over traffic violation.

She said she was forced to climb a pedestrian bridge at Uga Junction 30 times by the soldiers.

Obiechina who spoke to newsmen in her hospital bed in Onitsha, said "the Naval officers confiscated the only N1000 on me,being my transport fare back to my village in Ogbaru Local Government and money to buy pap for my new baby.

"My problem started when I crossed the expressroad from the Bridgehead market side. Two Naval personnel accosted me, asked me to give them N5, 000 to mitigate my offence but I told them that I hadn't such amount.


She said when she told the officers that she had no N5,000 to give, they asked her to drop her telephone and the N1,000 they saw on her with them and climb the pedestrian bridge 30 times to pay for her alleged offence, adding that when she finished the corporal punishment ,she could not regain herself as her system was disorganised and she fainted.

She said "In fact, I don't know what was happening to me again. My entire body system started collapsing. Even when I fainted, the Naval personnel were not bothered, rather they were mocking me saying that after pretending I would stand up.

"I heard them when I started regaining consciousness. It was one of them who told his colleagues to stop mocking me, that I was not pretending. He later returned my handset without my N1000.

"When I regained consciousness, I demanded for the N1000 but they told me that the officer holding my money had left.At that juncture, I was stranded as I had no other money on me and I alerted my boss about my plight, who encouraged me to manage to come to the office so that he would give me back transport money.

"When I got to the office I fainted again and I was rushed to St Cyprain Hospital, along Porthacourt Road, Fegge, Onitsha where I'm now recuperating.

Efforts to get the Commanding Officer, Odekpe Naval Post, Navy Commander Sani Abdurayi, failed as his handset was not going through.

He did not also respond to texts sent to him over the development.

Reacting, Human Rights Liberty Access and Peace Defenders Foundation (HURIDE) called for immediate and total overhaul of the Iyiowa Odekpe Naval Post due to what it called their atrocities against the citizens they were supposed to protect

HURIDE Executive Director, Dede Uzor said there had been series of cases of abuse of citizens' rights by the Naval Personnel at Uga Junction.

He said in the case of lady Obiechina who is a nursing mother, was totally wrong and out of the rule of engagement of the military to inflict such corporal punishment on an ordinary civilian, let alone a woman and a nursing mother for that matter.

He called on the leadership of the Nigerian Navy to fish out the culprits of the heinous rights abuse to pay for their sins.

Maybe if she had used the pedestrian bridge all these would have been avoided.
If you break the law then you are fair game to law enforcement agents (crooked or straight).

Even as u fainted u were still hearing them talk and they were telling u that has fainted that after u pretend u will get that is to say who fainted the hear and the see

What else did they ask that u did not give? Cos from ur pic, they could Oliver. Ask for more