Man “unlawfully arrested” by police while standing in front of his father’s house and branded a cultist in newspapers speaks out

A young man has gone on the social media platform X to speak out after he was branded a cultist in several news publications following his “unlawful” arrest.

Oluga Abiola, a Maths graduate from the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, said he was standing in front of his father’s house on Sunday, Feb. 4, 2023, when he witnessed police officers arresting young men in his neighbourhood.

He said he was chatting with a friend on his phone but one officer falsely accused him of recording the raid on his phone and he was arrested and taken to Ibarra Police Station in Ogun State.

There, he was labelled a cultist and was detained for 3 days, without an opportunity for bail.

“Adding insult to injury, the Ogun Police Command’s PPRO published my name on national newspapers,” he wrote.

He added that the police “branded me a suspected cultist without conducting any investigation.”

He said that while in detention, the DPO of the Ibarra division threatened to make his life unbearable.

He clarified that he does not belong to any cult group, adding that he is just a recent graduate waiting to go for NYSC.

He wrote: “It’s imperative to expose the misconduct of the Nigerian police force in Ogun state( @OgunPoliceNG ), highlighting their harassment and defamation tactics. I sincerely urge the Inspector General of Police and the governor of Ogun state @dabiodunMFR to intervene, as this injustice cannot go unchecked. 

“Failure to address this issue risks subjecting others to similar instances of police #brutality. The DPO must be held accountable, and my poor family is seeking help for legal representation to pursue justice. 

“A public apology in national newspapers is necessary to rectify the damage done to my reputation.”

He added that while in detention, he met a lot of people in the cell who were unjustly arrested like he was.

Nigerians have reacted, accusing the police of arresting innocent people and branding them criminals.

Read tweets below.