Osun: Woman Allegedly Brutalized By Police DPO Missing – [Photos]

The Osun State Command of the Nigeria Police Force is reportedly searching for one Mrs. Blessing Mba, who has been reported missing from her home.

Naija News understands that the mother of two had earlier visited a division of the force to report that she was abused and brutalized by an officer, CSP Ige Adekunle of Divisional Police Officer of the Adeleke Police Station, Iwo.

It was reported that the 27-year-old woman had visited the police division to complain about her son, who was said to have been detained by the police.

It was unclear what her 15-year-old child had done, but reports said he was held at the station, and the mother had to visit after the boy failed to return home in the evening of that day.

While at the station, a police officer identified as Apapa reportedly assaulted the woman, accusing her of bringing a sacrifice to the station.

“We will kill you, shoot you, and nobody will ask of you,” Blessing quoted the officers.

She told Daily Post that the officers threatened her while pleading for her life until she fainted. “They poured water on me, and I woke up,” she added.

According to her, the DPO, Adekunle, gave her N2,000 after she was resuscitated and was about to leave the hospital. She said he gave her another N2,000 in the evening hour of that day.

She claimed that the DPO later gave her N15,000 and took her to the hospital again to treat her leg after she threatened to report the case to the Police Area Command in Iwo.

The woman reportedly brutalized by police DPO

Sharing their understanding of the incident, some residents who reportedly spoke with the news platform on condition of anonymity said they live in absolute fear of the DPO and his officers in the area.

They told the journalists that Blessing and her other child left their house opposite Adeeke police station, Iwo, on Sunday evening and have not returned since then.

Reacting to the development, the Osun State Police Command spokesperson, SP Yemisi Opalola, told the media that the force had invited Blessing to Command headquarters in Osogbo on Sunday.

Opalola claimed Blessing ran away from Police while they went to escort her to Osogbo to meet with the Commissioner of Police. According to her, the woman escaped the house with her other little son around 9:30 pm on Sunday with a bag.

Blessing’s phone number has not been reachable, while all efforts to locate her proved abortive, Naija News learned.

Meanwhile, there was an alleged attempt by one Comrade Ibrahim Nurudeen to bury the case.

It was reported that the self-proclaimed Human Rights Activist and member of Advocacy for Justice had asked Daily Post to withdraw from writing the case as a brutalization of the victim by the DPO.

Nurudeen reportedly asked the media to instead blame the woman for coming out to speak with a journalist while the matter is still being investigated.

He said he had told the Area Command to hold on to the matter for investigation or prosecution. He further told the journalists that unknown police officers attacked Blessing and not the DPO, as she claimed.

“We told Area Command to hold on the case. I have all the medical tests of the victim and made sure the DPO paid for her treatment,” he said.

Contrarily, sources told the media that Nurudeen had on Sunday asked for the woman. The source, according to Daily Post, revealed that three men on Sunday evening came looking for Blessing at home, claiming to be working for a non-governmental advocacy organization.

When confronted, the acclaimed activist denied knowing anything about her movement.

“It is true that I was looking for her on Sunday, but I just want to ask her about how the report got out. I don’t know anything about her missing,” he claimed.

The police spokesperson, Opalola, while interacting with the journalists, reportedly said the CP had ordered the involved police officers to be detained at the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID).

She added that the Commissioner of Police also summoned the DPO to report to his office on Monday while an effort is ongoing to get the woman.

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