According to Punch newspaper, the police in Lagos have said the 29-year-old photographer, Ejeh Smith, who was brutalised by a policeman attached to the Ikoyi Police Division along with his wife, Grace, was drunk on the night of the incident.
The police authorities added that the couple engaged the policeman in a scuffle, adding that since the incident happened, they had refused to make statements to the police.
The Police Public Relations Officer, Lagos State Command, DSP Kenneth Nwosu, told Punch Metro that the police had, however, detained the erring policeman, Dada Ogunsanya, assuring members of the public that justice would be served.
The Lagos police’s defence came as the Inspector General of Police, Suleiman Abba, ordered a full scale investigation into the case.
Punch correspondent had reported on Wednesday that a photographer, Ejeh Smith, and his wife, Grace, were on their way home in a taxi they boarded at Obalende. The cab was reportedly stopped at the Lekki Roundabout by a team of policemen patrolling the area.
According to the taxi driver, Ndubuisi Iheaka, the police corporal checked the boot of the car before demanding his driving licence.
Iheaka said while he was about getting the driving licence, Ogunsanya decided to beam his torchlight on his passengers.
The couple was said to have protested the action, telling him that the inner lights of the vehicle, which were on, was enough for him to see their faces.
The policeman reportedly asked them to alight after which an argument ensued, which degenerated into a scuffle.
In the process, Ogunsanya allegedly punched Ejeh in the face and also allegedly hit him in the face with the butt of his rifle. He thereafter slapped Grace and stepped on her stomach.
The Ikoyi Divisional Police Officer, Mrs Aisha Haruna, who arrived at the scene was accused by the couple of backing the policeman’s action.
The report of the torture, accompanied with the pictures of the couple at the time of the incident published by Punch Metro, had sparked rage.
The police spokesman, Nwosu, while reacting to the reports, said the police had commenced disciplinary action against the corporal.
That police officer should be terminated from the Nigerian Police Force and jailed for manhandling the couple and inflicted them with such injuries as shown in the pictures. The IG of Nigerian Police Force should commence immediate screening of the entire police force and fire those deemed unfit to serve the citizens they were hired to protect.