Ogun lawyer says she lost her pregnancy due to police harassment

In an interview in which she detailed her ordeal in the hands of the policemen, Adebayo recalled that she was picked up by three officers on Monday, July 31, 2023, at her office in Oju Ore, the Ota area of Ogun State. The policemen told her she must follow them to Onipanu Police Station along Obasanjo road in the state.

According to the lawyer, the policemen came with a man identified as Niyi, whom she had earlier followed to the police station when he was invited by the police over a land matter.

Adebayo stated that trouble began when she accompanied Niyi and four other people to the police station because they were invited over a land matter they had nothing to do with.

She said the five people were released to her and that she was to be bringing them upon request by the police.

"They said those five people were occupying a piece of land at Ota. When they were invited, the said complainant did not even know them. The matter is already at the court, they only occupied the vacant place as apprentices that they are, and the resolution was that they should vacate the place with which they complied.

"But on Saturday, an officer called me saying that he wanted to see those five persons again at Onipanu Police Station. I said I would inform them. I said they could also call them since they had their numbers," she stated.

Speaking further, Adebayo said she had a court case at the Federal High Court, Ikoyi, Lagos, on Monday and had already informed the five people to meet the police on that day.

"They (the policemen) came to my office on Monday and asked me to accompany them to the police station. I entered the vehicle. I saw Niyi and asked him if he was the one that brought the policemen to my office and he said no. So I entered the car and followed them.

"While on our way, when we got to Obasanjo, I expected them to enter the station but they drove past it and locked the car and sped off.

"They held me and rough-handled my clothes. One of them pointed a gun at me and said they have killed many lawyers and I should learn from them. I was urinating on myself. I was screaming and telling people to record the incident – that I am a lawyer.

"When people came out, the police officers used guns to scare them away. They later released me and drove Niyi away. I don’t know where they took him to till now," she added.

Adebayo, who noted that she fell ill since the incident happened, stated that she was told at a hospital that she had a miscarriage.