A Nigerian lady, Chioma Pius was recently brutalised by men of the Nigerian police force for having tattoos.
The young lady, armed pictures of her bruises took to Facebook to narrate what happened. She calls the experience the worst day of her life.
This is her post:
“Today was a horrible day. It’s the worst day of my life.
I was brutalized by police officers. This happened at emohua axis of river state, at the highway leading to Bayelsa. My crime was that I tattooed my body.
A police officer asked me to step down from the taxi I was traveling with from Bayelsa to port harcourt.
I asked to know why and he asked again so I got out of the car and then he asked to know who I was and what I did.
I gladly introduced myself after which i had a big smile on my face and my phone rang but I couldn’t answer.
Then he said I should I identify myself to his superior which I found funny and I was just looking at the guy when he said I should get detained that I don’t have manners.
I was called a cultist, prostitute, armed robber. There’s no disgusting name these men didn’t call me and all this time I was just laughing and telling them am not entering their mobile cell.
They seized my phone’s so I couldn’t record them. They searched my purse and when they couldn’t find any money, they got more angry.
They said that I don’t even have money and am showing myself. Before I knew it, one of the officers grabbed me by my trousers and pushed me to the van. The other guy slapped me and punched me repeatedly.
I was asking why they are beating me up and their boss used his gun to hit me on my thighs. He went away came back with cane and was flogging me and calling me names. They pushed me into their cell.
During the struggle, I lost my ring and while this was happening, they were collecting money from highway drivers and letting them through without searching them.
These guys are animals. They touched the wrong one. They will not go unpunished. They sent away my taxi driver. Passers by were watching it couldn’t do anything.
I will not be humiliated for no reason. These police officers are not here to protect us but only to hurt innocent ones but its enough what’s wrong with one tattooing their body?”
Written by Chioma Pius who was brutalised by some policemen for having tattoos.
It’s so sad. I was shaking after reading this. This is pathetic. I don’t know if all these law abiding police officer were trained and refused to heed to training on who to arrest or not. They go out there and attacked and rubbed innocent civilians.