Yosua, an indigene of Okpara, Delta State, said he was arrested and detained at the Mile 12 Police Post after he had gone to report the fight on Sadiku Street in the Mile 12 area where he lived.
Our correspondent learnt that Yosua and two others were arrested by the police on Friday, October 9, from where they were reportedly transferred to the Ketu division.
The suspects were afterwards taken to the State Department of Criminal Investigation, Yaba, for further investigation.
PUNCH Metro gathered that the family members of Yosua had made efforts to explain the graduate’s non-involvement to the police, but the efforts had not yielded any result.
Speaking with our correspondent while being paraded, Yosua said he was held at gunpoint and was forced to write the statement at the station, minutes after he had come to report the fight.
He said, “It was on Friday, October 9, on my street in the Mile 12 area. The street fight started at about 8pm. My friends and I were in a shop discussing when we heard bottles breaking a few metres away. We quickly ran inside the compound of one of my friends.
“That was where I hid while the thugs fought on my street. After about 10 minutes, I came out, and found out that one of my friends, Bisi Olateju, was injured. I then told others that I was going to the police station to report the fight. I went to the Mile 12 Police Post to make the report.
“When I was going back home, one of the police officers, a woman, said I should be on the lookout, and bring anyone who was among those fighting.
“I then rushed my friend, Bisi (Olateju), to the hospital. As I stepped out of the hospital premises, one of the hoodlums, who learnt I went to the station to report, came around to make trouble.
“After much noise, he was beaten by some other persons, and we all went to the police station. The hoodlum was slightly injured in the mouth. When we got to the station, to my surprise, I was arrested and detained.
“I told the policemen that I was the one who came earlier to report the street fight. One of them just pointed a rifle at me, and said I should begin to write a statement. That was how I was detained.
“Later on, I was transferred with the hoodlum to Ketu division and then to SDCI, Panti. I had never been involved in violence. I made a mistake of going to the police to report the incident.
“A policeman, Adeyemi, who is attached to Ketu division, is the mastermind of my ordeals. My family members had gone to explain to him on several occasions, but he would not listen.”
Our correspondent gathered that Yosua, who studied Information Technology, and finished his National Youth Service Corps programme in February 2015, had yet to get a job.
The state Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, in a briefing before the parade, said the men were arrested as suspected hoodlums, adding that investigations were ongoing on the matter.
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