Nigerian Family Laments As Benin Republic Police Detain Son For Five Months ‘Over Failure To Pay 5000 CFA Bribe’
A member of the family, Yemisi with X username, @Yeahmicee, who narrated how her brother got detained in Benin Republic said that the Nigerian man was travelling to Cotonou where his wife attended school, to collect her belongings from her landlord’s house when he was arrested and detained on trumped up charges after he failed to give the police officers the sum of 5,000 CFA they demanded.
ANigerian family has raised the alarm about how their son, who was arrested by officers of the Benin Republic police in Cotonou on June 13, has been in detention because he refused to pay the officers 5,000 CFA bribe while travelling to the West African country from Lagos.
A member of the family, Yemisi with X username, @Yeahmicee, who narrated how her brother got detained in Benin Republic said that the Nigerian man was travelling to Cotonou where his wife attended school, to collect her belongings from her landlord’s house when he was arrested and detained on trumped up charges after he failed to give the police officers the sum of 5,000 CFA they demanded.
My brother was abducted by the Beninese police on the 13th of June 2023 while he was traveling to cotonou and till date, he’s not being released, we’ve tried every possible means to get him out, all to no avail. Please help retweet and tag the appropriate authorities
— Yemsss???????????? (@Yeahmicee) November 19, 2023
According to @Yeahmicee, “On the 13th of June 2023, my brother travelled from Lagos to Cotonou. He was going there to help his wife get her things from her landlord’s house. His wife went to school in Benin Republic and she couldn’t travel because she just had a baby.
This is the whole story here, https://t.co/M169bHmKub — Yemsss???????????? (@Yeahmicee) November 19, 2023
“He got to Seme border around 7pm because of traffic and by the time he crossed the border, it was around 8pm, so there’s this checkpoint right after the border that checks cars going into the country, the Seme-Krake checkpoint, when the car he was in got there.
“They checked the booth of the car, after that, they asked my brother to get down from the car which he obliged, then the officer asked him for 5,000 cfa and he told him he hadn’t changed money yet so he didn’t have any cash on him, he was going to change money when he got to Cotonou.
“The officer took him to their station (Commissariat de Sèmè Kraké), that he couldn’t allow him to proceed with his journey because it was already late and there were thieves in town, so he was in their custody till the following morning.
“Then the officer that arrested him came in the next morning and was about to free him when another officer came in, he saw that my brother was a Nigerian and he was still dressed while the other people in their custody were shirtless and he immediately pounced on my brother and started hitting him and asking him who he thought he was for not removing his own shirt, that he was not in Nigeria and he can’t act how he wants.
“He tore his shirt in the process, and it took the intervention of the other officers before he left my brother. He said the Nigerian police is also wicked so he’s not sorry for hitting him. The other officers had to tell him my brother wasn’t a suspect, he was just traveling late and that was the only reason why he was in their custody.
“Then he said they told him and the other people in their custody to go outside for punishment, some were asked to wash their patrol vehicles while my brother was among those that were asked to clear the bushes around them.”
Yemisi further explained that “While the punishment was going on, their boss arrived and they must have given him account of all the cases they had overnight, he asked to see my brother and when he saw how he had scratches all over his body and how his cloth had been torn, he reprimanded the officer that attacked him in my brother’s presence.
“When he asked my brother where he was going after he leaves their station with the scratches and bruises and my brother replied him that he was coming back home because he was already frustrated, the senior officer must have known the officer that attacked him did the wrong thing and he could be sued, the next order he gave was that my brother be taken to the cell.
“He then asked for my brother’s phone and bag. He asked how my brother was able to afford an iPhone, and asked him what he does and my brother told him he was a fish farmer, then they left my brother in the cell with no access to a phone call to even call his family to let them know where he was.
“We were already worried and sick at home because we hadn’t heard from him in about 3 days, and after about 3 days in their custody, as he was arrested on Tuesday, it was until Friday that the senior officer told the one that attacked my brother to take him to another station with a letter written in French taped to his phone.
“That was how my brother was transferred from one station to another, a total of 8 police stations, some of the stations didn’t even have a car to transport him to the next station. They would get a bike, handcuff my brother, put him in the middle while an officer sat at the back.
“Imagine how traumatic the experience must have been while he did absolutely nothing. His only crime was that he didn’t have 5,000 cfa to give the officer at the checkpoint and that was why they put him through hell until he was finally taken to the OCRC office (@ocrc_benin) where he was labeled a “guy man”.
“It was there that an officer gave him his phone to call home and since that phone call, it’s been hell.
“They claimed he was guilty and they allegedly had evidence they printed out from his phone. When we got there, we weren’t allowed to speak with him, so we didn’t know the full story. We just knew he was stopped on the road and ended up at the OCRC office for charges of cybercrime.
“They told us to get a lawyer because they were taking him to court the following Wednesday which was June 21, then an officer introduced us to a fake lawyer which we didn’t know until later.
“The officer charged us for linking us with the lawyer, then the lawyer demanded 1 million cfa from us. We were surprised because he didn’t even commit any crime and if a lawyer were to charge a million in Nigeria, it must be a murder case or kidnapping or something very serious.
“Eventually, out of fear of what might happen if he didn’t have a lawyer to represent him and tell his story to the court, because we didn’t meet the lawyer until Wednesday morning right outside the court, we gave the lawyer N500,000 and this man actually didn’t do anything in court, rather, he was sleeping and when he was awake, he was expecting my brother to admit to the charges but my brother refused and was trying to defend himself.
“Eventually, the case was adjourned till July and my brother was taken to Akpro-Miserette prison in Porto Novo where he has been since.
“We tried to see the lawyer after the court session because we were in court till 10pm but this man refused to see us. He didn’t answer phone calls either, till the next court sitting he never went to check on my brother.”
According to Yemisi, till date, he has not been released.
“We have tried every possible means to get him out, all to no avail”, adding that any conversation with money found on his phone by the police had been tagged as fraud, and that any transaction from as low as N5,000 had been tagged as fraud, while “the dollar wallpaper that can be downloaded anywhere online, they claimed it was the money he got from fraud.”
Reacting to Yemisi’s cry for help, the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCom) vowed to take over the matter but asked the family to send a formal petition to the Commission.
Hello Yemisi @Yeahmicee,
Sorry to hear about your brother’s situation. It’s important to remain calm and gather all relevant details.
Be rest assured that we will work towards resolving the issue through appropriate channels.
Kindly send a formal petition to us via (…
— Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (@nidcom_gov) November 20, 2023
“Hello Yemisi @Yeahmicee, sorry to hear about your brother’s situation. It’s important to remain calm and gather all relevant details. Be rest assured that we will work towards resolving the issue through appropriate channels. Kindly send a formal petition to us via ( admin@nidcom.gov.ng ),” the Commission said.
