The Lagos State Police Command has reacted to an allegation made by a woman identified as Real Omo, who claimed that she was detained along with other women, in a single cell with men at the Maroko Police Station, located in the Lekki area of Lagos.
In a video shared on Monday by an X user Oyindamola, with the handle @dammiedammie35, the woman explained that she and the other women were picked up by police officers while walking in an unnamed area of Lekki.
“Men and women are together in the cell. There are even young children with us. We don’t know what to do. Please, come to our aid. We are at the Maroko Police Station, and we need help right now,” she pleaded.
“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?” she queried.
But reacting to the allegation, the command’s spokesperson, Benjamin Hundeyin, dismissed the claims. According to him, the individuals were kept in a holding area and not cell.
Hundeyin explained that once arrested persons leave holding area to cell, 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 a tweet on Monday.