A Taxify driver, John Otuechere, who was wrongly accused by his passenger of stealing her bag and eventually tortured by the SARS operatives she reported to, has filed for charges over violation of his human rights.

The driver added that he was arrested, detained and tortured on the order of one Mrs Alice Isah.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Isah who came back into the country from training in Dubai on Sunday, July 15, had called the Taxify driver to pick her up from the Murtala Muhammed International Airport and drop her off at her residence on Lekki Gardens Estate, Lagos State.

Otuechere said while they were on the way, his car developed a fault which prompted him to park to examine the vehicle.

He said:

“We were on the Third Mainland Bridge when my car started making an unusual sound. I did not stop because it was dangerous; so I managed it until we left the bridge.

“I eventually parked beside a RRS Patrol vehicle to examine the car. While examining the car, a guy crossed over from the other side of the road to assist me. I don’t know him, but he said he was a mechanic, and we discovered that only one nut was left holding the tyre to the bolts on the driver side.

“The woman (Isah) at this point got down from the car to observe what was going on. She saw that we had to unscrew one nut from the other tyres to fasten the tyre on the driver side to the vehichle. I gave the man N100 and he crossed back to the other side of the road before we moved on.”

The 37-year-old driver said they had no other stopover till they got to Isah’s residence where they brought down her luggage. He said the passenger, at this point, discovered that one of her bags had gone missing.

Otuechere said he suggested taking her back to the airport to check whether she forgot the bag, adding that instead, Isah accused him of conniving with the mechanic to steal her bag.

He said:

“I told her that I would take her to the airport and back for free, but she insisted that she personally put the bag in the boot of my car.

“She held me and started slapping me, calling me a thief. One of her neighbours and the estate’s chief security officer accompanied her, and I was taken to the Ogombo Police Station.

“The second day, when the policeman who investigated the case suggested that we searched for the bag at my house and the airport, she said he was supporting me and she petitioned the state police command and the case was transferred to Ikeja.

“Immediately I got to SARS in Ikeja, a policeman, identified as Omoleme, hit me many times with an iron bar to make me confess in the presence of the woman. He said he would kill me and nothing would happen. I was in tears because of the pain; my blood was all over the floor and I was told to pull off my dress and start cleaning it.

“I was taken to the man in charge of SARS; when I tried to explain to him that I was innocent, he ordered his men to hang me because I was not saying the truth.

“SARS cell is a graphic picture of hell; I saw over 70 people inside one room and immediately I entered, I was welcomed with several blows, slaps and kicks.”

The Abia State indigene said it took the intervention of his lawyer before the SARS operatives agreed to search for the bag at the airport.

He added that the bag was eventually found and recovered at the airport where the woman forgot it.

Otuechere, whose two fingers had been broken during the torture, said he wanted justice and compensation for being humiliated and tortured for a crime he did not commit.

He said:

“When my lawyer saw my condition, she was annoyed with the officers for torturing me without investigation. She insisted that they should search for the bag at the airport; so a policeman went with my sister. I was told that the bag was found at the airport.

“When they returned, I was released. The woman has not called to apologise; even the officers of SARS did not apologise for torturing me without investigation. I want justice, I demand a written apology from F-SARS and Mrs Alice Isah for wrongful accusation, detention and torture.

“I also demand N10m compensation for my inability to provide for my family because of the torture.

Otuechere’s sister, Chika, said Isah was not remorseful of what she did to her brother after they recovered the bag at the airport.

Chika said:

“When we got to the airport, we went to where they normally put missing luggage. We didn’t even stress ourselves before we found the bag there. The airport officers told us that they picked it on the floor of the airport.

“The woman was not remorseful about what she caused. The SARS officers were even harassing me despite knowing that she was the one who forgot the bag.

“They broke my brother’s fingers because of this issue. I want the government to fight for us. They should end SARS, they are killers.

Isah, however, said she never took the law into her own hand, adding that she involved the police because she needed them to recover her bag which contained vital document.

Isah said:

“The car started jerking on Third Mainland Bridge and he stopped to examine what happened and discovered it was the tyre. I had to tell him to manage it till we left the bridge.

“After disembarking the bridge, one strange guy came and I saw them looking at the tyre. The driver told me that it was some missing nuts that caused the problem.

“When we got to my residence, we could not locate the bag. Because of those two stopovers and the strange fellow, I thought that that was how my back got missing.”

Isah said she reported the case at the Ogombo Police Station, where Otuechere was detained, adding that she reported to SARS because she urgently needed her bag.

“I was the one that went to the SARS to report. When they heard from me and John, they decided that we should go to the airport where the bag was found. I don’t know how to explain how I felt when I saw the bag at the airport. I did not torture him; I only reported the matter to the law enforcement agents because I wanted my bag.

“When we were leaving, they said we should bring our lawyers, so I went there with my lawyer and they exchanged addresses and phone numbers. I have been waiting to hear from my lawyer since then.”

The Lagos State Police Public Relation Officer, CSP Chike Oti, said Otuechere was not tortured.

He said:

“What happened was that a case of stealing was lodged against him at Ogombo division. Before investigation into the case could start, the complainant in the case moved it to another level of police investigation, which is SARS.

“Through diligent investigation by the F-SARS team, the missing bag was recovered. The Taxify driver was subsequently released on administrative bail. I must tell you on good authority that throughout the period of the investigation, he was not tortured by the F-SARS men.

“However, it must be noted that the suspect was roughened up a bit by a mob. For him now to turn around to put any form of blame on the F-SARS men who worked hard to recover the stolen bag is most unfortunate.

“Meanwhile, investigation into the case is still ongoing and efforts are on to identify and arrest the mob that attacked him before he was handed over to the police.”

https://lailasnews.com/sars-operatives-torture-driver-over-lost-bag-but-owner-misplaced-it-at-the-airport/

Tell those sars their death follows suite

No. Wonder they keep getting killed mistakenly.

End SARs or deploy them to Benue, Zamfara or Taraba now...Useless people

Nigerian police are the worst criminals on Earth. They can cover up their evil deals

Please, let us focus on this. If true this story is enough to check this sars personnel.

, make God help us the poor masses



flee from reapers, bring your gift cards to my doorstep
Chevk signature

That woman and the SARS involved shall know no peace

If everything up there is the pure truth, then Mrs Alice Isah is just another Nigerian Jezebel.

Of course the diligent police are right, they were right there when the mob attacked the man while another detachment went to airport to search for a bag

Nansense

Oga u must not gree o cuz from this its obvious she is lying. She could av listen early wen its still hot but no she wanna bully u to know she is superior. See petition even d F-SARS N D WOMAN ,go to human right . Write tothe chief judge n IG of police .
Also demand higher compensation joor wat is 10m ,increase to 50m so they learn their lesson

It will be easier for a Carmel to pass through a needle hole than for a Nigerian police man to make heaven. If you have not encountered police mistreatments,that when you will believe such lies, and for that madam that is claiming boss, soon, you will see what passes you. Imagine transferring the case to f SARS. She wants to kill the guy.
And the funniest thing is that ,that bag may just contain powders, lipsticks, foundations, and chewing gums. Useless people.

Nigerian police should stop all this petty lies in a bid to cover their human right abuse, it makes them look stupid and heartless. Very unprofessional bunch of illiterates who too lazy to investigate. They should be in the olympics for jumping categories because they always jump into conclusion.

Police is your friend.

“However, it must be noted that the suspect was roughened up a bit by a mob. For him now to turn around to put any form of blame on the F-SARS men who worked hard to recover the stolen bag is most unfortunate.

The bolded statement by the policeman is highly provocative and insulting to a sound mind. Does he know thr definition of stolen, what is the correlation between misplaced/forgotten and steal?
In a working country the woman will be on her knees begging the cab man.

waste all those sars guys
waste them
dia wives
friends
waste them all
do not pity sars

Imagine if the bag was not found...May God punish that heartless woman. After the mechanic assisted, did she see him leave with any bag or bag is now a pin that he hid in his pocket? The guy must get justice and i am willing to assist in my own little way

Wild animals in the zoo

The demonic isah was not in anywhere remosful, what a world?

Even the 10milluon naira claim is not enough and they must pay.

Failing system!

Blacks. The worst set of people

Going to court is a waste of time, go and summon here in a shrine, then they should judge the case frm there

this is maddening. imagine the number of cases like these that go unreported daily.

This is becoming more worrisome

Okay Sarzbeats

Wat a shame

[b]He said he would kill me and nothing would happen.
[/b]
That is Nigerian police for You! And true true who knows you in your country to care

Nigerian police be disgracing themselves upandan

Ordinary civilians will do a better job than these clowns!

It's high time, government pay us to protect ourselves if you will not endSARS

Na dere way..

The Lagos State Police Public Relation Officer, CSP Chike Oti, said Otuechere was not tortured.






Nothing strange there, this is Nigeria afterall.

Ehya... atkeast them no kill you... congrats you are among the lucky few.



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