8 Months Pregnant Woman Loses Baby After Police Stripped And Beat Her.

A mother of two, who gave her name as Chika
Elekwachi has lost her pregnancy following police
brutality. Narrating her ordeal, she said:
“On July 19, 2015 at about 7 pm, I was driving
along Old Ojo Road to my house in my Infinity
QX35 Sports Utility Vehicle with registration
number MUS157DG.
Park or I fire you: “In the vehicle with me were
two friends of mine. On getting to Pako Bus-stop,
a mini-bus with four occupants double-crossed
us in a gestapo manner. This made me to
suddenly apply the brake. At that point,
occupants of the mini-bus, who were dressed in
civil attire, jumped out of the bus. One of the
gun-wielding men had a black branded police T-
shirt.I was ordered out of the car by the police
who yelled, ‘’Park or I fire you’’. Another one
spoke in pidgin English, ‘’Oga na pregnant
woman o.’’
In response, the first policeman said: ‘’If na
pregnant woman nko, I will kill her if she is not
careful.’’ Before I could move, my front doors
were flung open and I was pulled out of the
vehicle.All my pleadings that I was eight months
pregnant fell on deaf ears, as they continued to
beat me. I was dragged on the floor and
eventually stripped naked.The incident attracted a
sympathetic crowd, whose pleadings were
ignored because the men insisted that I would
follow them to the station,” she recalled.
As she continued, Mrs Elekwachi said:
“ While I sat on the floor to cover my nakedness,
having been stripped naked, the police men
began to drag me; while struggling with them, I
fell and hit my stomach on the floor.“The men
were not deterred as they carried me to the
station where I was dragged out of the vehicle. It
was there that I got a phone from a passer-by
and called my family to intimate them about my
ordeal. It was at this stage that the Divisional
Crime Officer, DCO, came out to know what
caused the pandemonium outside, because I had
lost consciousness.
I was then taken to Safe Hands Medical Centre,
where I was diagnosed of maternal trauma and
placenta abruption. As a result of that, a
caesarean operation was carried out on me to
bring out the baby, who died after four days in an
incubator at Outreach Medical Centre, Satellite
Town”.
Thereafter, the brutalised lady, who was not
immediately informed about her baby’s demise,
was taken to a government hospital in the area
for further medical attention. It was at this
hospital, that VF visited her for the first time.
According to Elekwachi, her journey to the health
facility was facilitated by the Police. She
explained that the Divisional Police Officer, DPO,
in charge of the station was sending police
officers on daily basis to inquire about her welfare
and also to offset some of her medical bills.
She said:
‘’The Police brought me to the
hospital. The DPO was sending
people everyday but the visit
stopped after a few days. I needed
to buy drugs that were prescribed
for me but I did not see them.I also
needed to scan my stomach and
chest but did not do so because the
Police stopped coming to the
hospital. My calls to them were also
ignored. I didn’t see them until I
was discharged,’’ she noted.‘’The
policemen who visited me at the
hospital were concerned about my
condition. One of them even
informed me that those who
brutalised me were sent to a place
where a commercial motorcyclist
died in a motor accident. They were
sent there to ensure that the truck
that killed the motorcyclist was not
set ablaze. It was on their way to
the scene that they assaulted me,’’

Continuing, she said:
‘’Since I was discharged the DPO has not called
me. However, my relatives went to the station to
collect the death certificate of my baby but it was
not given to them. Rather a letter was given to
them requesting me to come to their office in
Ikeja on August 3, 2015.’’
The letter titled “RE: Orderly Room Trial”, dated
July 31, 2015 has 4161/LS/SAT/VOL 3/369,
Chika Elekwachi ‘F’ as its reference number. The
invitation which emanated from the DPO’s office
read:
“I refer to the incident of 19/7/2015 along Old
Ojo Road involving you and three Policemen.
You are requested to report on 3/8/2015 at 10:00
am to the Provost, Nigeria Police, State
Headquarters Ikeja to give evidence on the
matter. Accept my assurances of the Police
Commissioner’s highest regards.” The invitation
was signed by the DPO, Mr. Felix Ofili, a
Superintendent of Police.
The orderly room trial seems to be sequel to the
confirmation of the incident by the Lagos State
Police Command and its promise to investigate
the matter.
It also noted that the three policemen had been
arrested.Not minding the concern displayed by
the DPO, some of those who got wind of the
incident are demanding a proper investigation
and prosecution of the suspects according to the
laws guiding the force.
Elekwachi’s lawyer, Mrs. Franca Okafor has
already written a seven-page petition to the
Inspector General of Police and the State Police
Commissioner.
The petition read in parts: ‘’It is not in doubt that
the fundamental rights of our client had been
flagrantly and violently breached by men of the
Nigeria Police and our instruction is to demand
from you the sum of N2, 500,000 (Two billion five
hundred million) for general exemplary and
aggravated damages coupled with a public
apology”.

Source: Vanguard