The Lagos State Police Command has reacted to an allegation made by one Real Omo, who claimed she was locked up with other women, in a single cell with men at Maroko Police Station.
In a video via X on Monday, the woman lamented that she was picked up by operatives while walking in the Lekki area of the state.
She said: “Men and women are together in the cell. See small pikin [sic] with children. We don’t know what to do. You people should come to our aid, we are at the Maroko Police Station. We need help right now.
“Last night, they picked us up and arrested us. They said we couldn’t walk because they were conducting a raid. How was I supposed to know there was a raid in Lekki? I’m a victim. Please, this is Real Omo speaking. They said I’m going to prison—for walking at night? This is too much to bear. Does this make sense?”
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Benjamin Hundeyin, the command’s spokesperson, however dismissed the claims in a shared video saying the individuals were kept in a holding area and not cell.
He said once arrested persons leave the holding area, women and men are separated.
“That is a holding area, where they are visible to officers on duty at the charge room (counter). Once they move into the cell proper, they are properly separated and they would not even have their phones with them,” he stated.
In the video, five males and five females were seen standing with their backs to the wall.
It also showed the charge room and the passage leading to the male and female cells.
The officer narrating said, “This is an open cell. These are children roaming around the streets that ran away from their houses. The residents of Lekki brought them to the station, and most of them, their parents have come to take them over. They have only been kept in an open cell at the back of the charge room.”
