By our Reporter
Madam Martha Yaye Onokpasa has cried out over alleged invasion of her home by police officers at midnight, brandishing guns menacingly at her and the children as if they were criminals.
She is therefore demanding for justice following the violation of their human rights as enshrined in the Nigerian Constitution.
Narrating her ordeal with The Town Hall Media, madam Onokpasa who said she was yet to overcome the traumatic incident said, “we were assaulted by the police men who came for arrest.
They broke the back door at the wee hour of the day, my children and my younger brother were all molested and beaten with stick including my daughter.
“They tore her clothes while her 12 year old son was beaten with a stick and eventually exploited N260,000 from us.
“Sapele Area Command sent their men to invade our family house brutally and unprofessionally took us into custody without warrant. We were only released that day after coughing out N260,000.
“I am not a criminal and neither myself nor my family broke any law. We have been most heinously harassed by the police that is supposed to be our friend. I demand justice”, she lamented.
Continuing the embittered woman said “it was early in the morning on the 22nd day of July, we were still on bed when they heard loud noise of people forcefully breaking their doors to get into the house, some were at the frontage and some at the backyard threatening.
“We were so afraid thinking they were armed robbers or kidnappers. We saw that they were hefty police men armed with guns and sticks from the Sapele Area Command of the Nigerian Police. They claimed they are police from area command, that there is a petition.
“While I was being interrogated by one, my children and my younger brother were being molested and beaten with sticks. They assaulted my daughter and tore her clothes and my 12 year old son was beaten with a stick. They were all frightened with the state of terror unleashed on them.
” l told the police that it would have been better that they introduced themselves as the police instead of spoiling our properties, breaking our doors and molesting my family, mostly my young children, I pleaded with them to allow me dress properly cause I was still on my nightwear and I followed them.
“As I came out after dressing up properly, my brothers were handcuffed and being beaten with heavy sticks. They forced us inside a car and drove us to Area Command in Sapele. On getting there, they said one Mrs Marian Eke Shaibu wrote petition against one Kingsley and his group that they broke her blocks”.
She stated that the basis upon the petition can’t hold water given the fact there is already a case in court over a land dispute which she complained about and there is a subsisting court injunction to that effect.
In addition she said that “the case was also reported to the police at Zone 5 Headquarters, Benin City due to the Amua-Idiemo people that encroached on the said land, who also fought us, broke our beacons, injured us an the land is a disputed land already in court, that both injunction and restriction has been put on the land that no agent or worker should be seen on the land”.
Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, (PPRO), Bright Edafe, a Deputy Superintendent of Police DSP was not readily available with his reaction as at the time of this report.
