Day policemen turned complainant into suspect

On Saturday May 18, 2013, I became a victim once again of police victimigation and their usurpation of innocence to guilt of the highest level. It was led by a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), his name is Assistant Superintended  Iyama Zumo, who is in charge of Abubakar Gumi Central  Market Police Station in Kaduna.A week […]

On Saturday May 18, 2013, I became a victim once again of police victimigation and their usurpation of innocence to guilt of the highest level. It was led by a Divisional Police Officer (DPO), his name is Assistant Superintended  Iyama Zumo, who is in charge of Abubakar Gumi Central  Market Police Station in Kaduna.
A week earlier, on May 11, 2013, I bought a new telephone hand set and headed for Makarfi plaza in search of a specialist who will transfer my contacts from the old hands set to the new one I bought. I was directed to CONTACT SHOP, a blackberry specialty shop. I met a man I knew over the years called Yellow. Yellow is into GSM repairs and he introduced me to another repairer called  Smoke.  It was Smoke   I  gave the new phone to  transfer the contacts to. After a few minutes, he advised me to buy a new memory card, preferably a 4 GB  SD card to enable me use it for a longer time. I agreed after he cost it at N1,500.
Few minutes later he finished and billed me N5,000  for both the SD card and his labor, I paid him and left. On reaching home I gave my wife the old phone, hers was stolen few weeks earlier. However, she realized the SD card in it failed and she drew my attention to it. I was surprised to realize that my old SD card was removed. I then checked my new phone, and to my shocking surprise, my old 2 BG SD card instead of the 4 BG card I paid for was the one replaced. I was angry, but it was late into the night so I could not go back to Smoke. I went back to the shop the following day being Sunday, May12 , 2013 around 11 am, but unfortunately the shop was under lock,   the owners do not work on Sundays.
Due to the fact  that my work station is outside Kaduna State as a whole, I could not return to the shop until the following week when I came to Kaduna for my usual weekend. On Saturday, 18th May, 2013, I returned to the shop and complained to the Manager in charge who summoned Smoke and confronted him with my complaints which he initially denied but after his colleagues corroborated what I said, the manager apologized and gave me a new 4GB SD card that I had paid for.
As fate would have it, however, I forgot my car keys and was forced to return to the shop a few minutes later. As I entered, the manager asked me to return the SD card she gave me as Smoke has refused to own up to what transpired between us despite the corroboration by his colleagues.  I offered to pay for the new SD card and I went to his desk to discuss the development with him. He refused to even listen to me as he continued working on a laptop. I then took the laptop and asked him to refund my money if he wants his laptop back.
It was at this juncture that his friends forcefully snatched the laptop from me. Smoke joined in the fray and there was a physical struggle. Four youths surrounded and held different parts of my body, and as I struggled to free myself from their grips, my most expensive watch was damaged in the process. It was some  on lookers who over powered them and successfully yank me off to safety.
One of the good Samaritans introduced himself as a police officer and advised me to report the case to a nearby station which, I agreed. He helped me to call the police and within 15 minutes two young police officers came to the scene. There was drama as the manager refused to allow the police invite Smoke and his friends to the station, insisting that the officer must first see the union leadership before any action should be taken. An argument broke out over their invitation to the station, they all ran away and refused to turn up. After over 15 minutes unending wait for the culprits to return, I was advised by the police officer (I later found out he is an Inspector) to report and make a statement at the station and leave the rest to the police, I obliged and did that. At around 3.30pm, I received a call from the station that Smoke and his friends had been arrested and were all at the station, my attention was, therefore, required.
I reached the police station few minutes after 4 pm and met Smoke and his friends with a police officer, discussing about a damaged phone. They were explaining to him what he should do. Instinctively, I was suspicious. Why should the superior officer get into   conversation with and curry   favors from suspects arrested by his subordinates?  I was ushered in to sit and asked to repeat my complaints which I did.
The first shock came when the police officer suddenly told me that from what I said so far, I have committed illegality by forcefully confiscating his laptop and demanding for my money before I returned it. He then asked the other police officers there to bring the suspect’s form which he handed over to me to fill as a suspect. He then told me that as far as the law is concerned, myself and my adversaries were now all suspects and would be treated so. I told him I will not fill any form and asked whether I can call a lawyer.
He left to the DPO’s office and after discussing with the DPO, he asked me to see the DPO. Later Smoke and his friends were also asked to join me. At that point the manager of CONTAC SHOP also came in. I was told by the police officer when I first came to make my statement that Madam Contact is a regular visitor to the station due to reoccurring cases between her and customers.
After listening to our statements, the DPO ASP Iyama Zumo repeated what the police officer has said. It then occurred to me that I was in for trouble. The DPO without recourse to my complaints and without even acknowledging the fraud as well as the assault melted on me by Smoke and his friends immediately passed a guilty verdict on me and declared me as a suspect too.
When I realized that the police officers had wrongly framed me up with the intent to coerce me into a kangaroo settlement or even  to force me to bail myself as the DPO had already mentioned the need for bail for all of us, I then decided to let the cart out of the bag and introduced myself as a journalist.
I asked him whether he knew why I decided to chose journalism as my career. I then told him that I chose it, because I want to fight injustice against the people and to fight anyone who attempts to cheat me. I also addressed Smoke and his friends and reminded them that cheating will not take them anywhere as it has never taken any Nigerian leader or any corrupt person anywhere. I was forced by the sheer manipulation of the police officers and the seeming connivance with their men and officer present that day to drop my case. I chose to drop the case and leave.
Before I left the station,   the police officer had complained to the DPO that Madam Contact has embarrassed him when she came to the station.
I was flabbergasted, shocked, angered and bewilderedon the actions of these officers. If I can be put in this difficult situation and forced to withdraw a case through law enforcement agents, what about the ordinary person who can easily be intimidated by this kind of scenario? I pity Nigeria with this kind of Police Force. I pity myself for being in this situation and I pity Nigeria for the present situation it is in as a result of this same kind of manipulation of law by an agency established to serve it.