My name is Blessing. I am a resident of Igbo Oluwo estate jumofak. An incident happened on the 12th day of March, 2021 at about 2:00pm.
A thief was caught in my estate just beside my house and we were all outside, until the security personnel (onyabo) came and asked us (females) to go inside, after which we did (my neighbors and I).
We were in the compound when we heard a noise (the man was saying they should warn Adeloye in Yoruba), at this point we came out and Adeloye said (to the man), "You were the one that said all females should go inside. Why is your wife and daughter still outside and also making a video?" The man charged towards him (Adeloye) and attacked him twice. That was when we got in between them to separate and avoid further attacks from both parties.
Adeloye was taken away then I faced BBD and told him to calm down and i also went ahead to tell him if he continues to attack, it might turn into something else. In the bit of me telling him to calm down so that the matter doesn’t escalate, he wasn’t having my peace talk because he pushed me, and I said to him, "I am only trying to make peace here, you don’t have to do this." The wife came, accosted me that I wanted to beat her husband in Yoruba (so fe na oko mi ni). I was still trying to explain things to her when she pushed me and i pushed her in return. Her daughter did the same.
I was being held not to retaliate when he (BBD) came and punch me with a key in his hand which resulted to a cut and I started bleeding. After I noticed that I was bleeding, I held his t-shirt by the neck and he said that if I don’t leave him, he was going to strip me of my dress. He tore the dress, thank God I was wearing a tube and the dress had a rubber band. It was after he had injured me Adeloye punched him and tore his cloth. One of my neighbours was making a video of the situation, and this man went further to grab the phone and broke the screen, before it was forcefully collected from him.
After all said and done, I was taken to the hospital for treatment and the man said, he only gave me a slight punch and that why are they making it a big deal, even when the nurse at the hospital said the cut has to be stitched he said why do they have to stitch something that was just a bruise?
I went ahead to report the case at Owutu police station headquarters and after narrating my story, I was given an officer to follow me to invite him to the station. On getting there, he wasn’t at home but we met his wife and the officer relayed the message to his wife but unknown to us that he was at a party in the estate. Few minutes later, the woman leader of the CDA came to me saying she has been getting anonymous calls and messages as regards the incident that happened and she went further to say that she wants to hear my own side of the story, which I narrated to her. Then she said she was also going to ask the man (BBD) his own side of the story, and she put a call through to him.
With her phone on speaker, she said, "BBD, I want us to see and talk about an incident I heard about." And then she asked him where he was, he said, "I’m at a function happening on the estate field." Then she left.
On Saturday, I received a call from one of the officers in the human right department that 'they' were around. I thought the 'they' he was referring to were BBD and his family, but on getting there, I met two individuals, the women leader (which is a familiar face) and the other person was introduced to me as the chairman of the CDA. Officer Wole was the one that attended to us, he said and I quote, "In situations like this, mistakes are bound to happen" then he said, "the CDA has come to them (the police) to allow them (CDA) to handle the case, do the needful and settle the matter amicably." The officer went further to say that whatever the decision is, he is at liberty to tell them whether he is okay with their decisions or not. He also added that we should come back on Wednesday, the 16th day of March 2021.
Before leaving the station, the CDA informed me that they were coming to my house. I waited for them and when I didn’t see them, I called someone who sent me the women leader’s phone number and I put a call through to her. I asked her if they were still coming because I had to go to the hospital and she replied that they won't be coming anymore that the CDA chairman went to work after leaving the station.
On Sunday at about 7:19pm, my neighbour called me saying the CDA members were around and I told her that I just left the house to get medicine at the pharmacy outside the estate. At about 7:24pm, she called again informing me that they were many and that there is no chair for them to sit. I told her that i will be on my way back soon, that I could not get the medicine I wanted at the pharmacy I went to. I was at another pharmacy when her call came in at 7:36pm and I told her I was already on my way back but I was trekking because I couldn’t get a bike coming to the estate. She called back again at 7:44pm and I told her I was already close and eventually, I was home at 7:48pm and I greeted them. We entered my compound, and they started their talks, about 20 of them and all they said was sorry (mabinu), what happened can happen to anybody, it is the devil's handiwork (ise esu ni mabinu). I asked them if the purpose of the meeting was just to tell me sorry (mabinu), and they said, "We just have to say sorry, think of all these old people here (sha mabinu, wo ti awon agbalagba to wa ni bi) that are old enough to be your father and I replied, "My father would never lay his hands on someone else’s children to the extent of giving them a life time mark." I said to them since they are all here to say sorry (mabinu) that I’m old enough to know my rights and that I am going to seek for justice. Then one of them said in Yoruba and I quote, "eyan o kin lo le ejo ko pada wa shey ore”, meaning no one goes to court and come back as friends. I replied him saying someone that gave me a lifetime scar on my face isn’t looking for friendship.
While they were begging and they claimed this man was remorse, he (BBD) sat down, crossed his two legs and was operating his phone. About 4 of them took me to a corner in my compound and they all continued to say sorry, sorry should we prostrate for you (mabinu shey kin dobale fun e)? He (BBD) then came to where we were standing was about to part my back and all I said was, he shouldn’t touch me then I left.
My neighbor went to meet him (BBD), she asked "Why didn’t you come along with your family?" He said, "Why will he come with his family, and that if we see his daughter's face of the beating Adeloye gave her, we won’t be saying all these." I laughed because the so called daughter that was beaten, was the one that drove the car when they were coming from church. (Please I want you to note that particular statement).
After their apologies (mabinu), they left. On Monday, I went to the hospital and on getting back, I was outside waiting for Adeloye when I saw his wife and someone at their gate chit chatting. Something prompted me to take pictures of them which I did, and Adeloye arrived alongside with a lady (my hairdresser), a man (biddex) and another man (Sola) and they also said they want to come and beg me; that is Sola and biddex, that they don’t want the case to go beyond the estate and I told them the case is already beyond the estate and there is nothing I can do about it.
While we were still at it, my friends that stay in the estate came and they left. Later on, I saw my friends off and decided to stop by at my hairdresser's shop, when the same man biddex called me. He was inside BBD’s car and I didn’t answer him. I entered into my hairdresser’s shop and he followed me saying, "You are already disrespecting me" (oti ri mi fin). After like 3 minutes, BBD came in and he was apologizing, (I have a voice recording of what he said) and he then left after he was done talking.
On Wednesday, the 17th day of March 2021, I went to the police station. I got there around 10:00am, waited for them till like 11:03am before they arrived and we were summoned to the DPO’s office and he asked me to narrate what had happened, which I did. He also told BBD to do the same. BBD’s narration has to be the funniest and lies filled one I have heard in my life. His narration; he said after about 80-100 boys had beaten up the thief and used a sharp object to injure him, he then protested that no you can’t kill this thief, and that was when he went to get water to clean up the thief. He was cleaning up the thief when he saw Adeloye beating his wife and slapping her (please remember he said it was his daughter that was beaten). He then said when he was about to stop Adeloye from beating his wife, that was when I came from the back and held his cloth and started punching him to the extent that I tore his cloth, then Adeloye and his friends about 20 of them came at him and started punching him, that it was when they were punching him before God and man, that one of the few punches landed on my forehead that resulted to the cut and when he saw the cut he was like in yoruba (e je ki a gbe Omo yi lo si hospital), let us talk this girl to the hospital, that he even suggested I should be taken to Iya Dolapo before he now said no it better to take me to a proper hospital.
I was expecting the DPO to ask questions like; did you report the case? Why didn’t you report the case since your wife was beaten? Which hospital did you take her to, for treatment? Did you report the case of the thief? Where is the thief presently? I guess I can’t teach a whole DPO his work. The DPO then said we should come with out witnesses and that he will be handing the case over to the CDA, to the chairman precisely, to go and handle the case since it is a community case and we should all come back next week Wednesday, the 24th day of March 2021.
(She was at the police station and the man claimed that he didn't assualt her. That she, her boyfriend and some boys attacked him and she sustained the injury in the process of trying to seperate them.)
In my country Nigeria, is justice too much to ask for? If someone could boldly lie, does it not mean my truth is nothing? If nothing is done to the this, I fear for other females in the estate, community, Ikorodu, Lagos and the whole Nigeria at large, because people like this man (BBD) are out there walking freely, because they can lie their way out or feel they can use their positions to oppress people. Everyone is saying leave him for God, let God judge them. Why did God put you and me in certain positions if we can’t fight for ourselves? I can’t even cry in peace no more without holding my head in pain.
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