Woman pleads with IGP over detained son
A 38-year-old woman, Mrs. Wuche Ajuru, has appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to help trace her 23-year-old son, Happiness Ajuru, who was arrested and detained by the police in Rivers State on September 28, 2016. Mrs Ajuru in a letter addressed to Ibrahim Idris said her son was arrested by police […]
A 38-year-old woman, Mrs. Wuche Ajuru, has appealed to the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to help trace her 23-year-old son, Happiness Ajuru, who was arrested and detained by the police in Rivers State on September 28, 2016.
Mrs Ajuru in a letter addressed to Ibrahim Idris said her son was arrested by police officers attached to the Rumuji Police Station for allegedly being in possession of N49,000, and his whereabouts remain unknown since then.
Ajuru explained that she was initially hopeful that her son would be released when an indigene of the community, Okechukwu Eleonu, collected N60,000 from her for her son’s bail.
She said Eleonu told her that the N60,000 bail money would be handed over to the then Divisional Police Officer of Rumuji Police Station who was later transferred to Edo State.
Ajuru pointed out that she had visited many prisons in Rivers and Bayelsa states to look for her son but could not find him, even as the police refused to tell her what happened to her son.
She said: “The Investigating Police Officer identified as Akpante was at a point arrested and detained for two weeks in connection with my missing son while the matter was transferred to Zone 6, Calabar in Cross River State. I became more frightened when I saw William, one of the policemen at Rumuji Police Station wearing the pair of slippers my son wore the day he was arrested.
“My son’s name is Happiness Ajuru and he was arrested at Ogbakri Junction. He had N49,000 and his mobile phone with him when he was arrested. One Okechukwu Eleonu sometime ago reported my son to the police. My son told me that the man, Eleonu, was indebted to him to the tune of N200,000. One of my husband’s brothers, Mr. Ohaka, who is a policeman, came with me to know why my son was arrested and he later learnt that my son was innocent.
“The IPO in charge of the case, Mr. Akpante, was arrested and detained for two weeks when my son could not be found. I am a farmer; I borrowed the N60,000 I gave to Okechukwu Eleonu for the release of my son. Okechukwu Eleonu is not a policeman, but he is close to the then DPO of Rumuji Police Station in Emohua. My son is innocent, my son is not a cultist, but I paid N60,000 to bail somebody who the police had already confirmed innocent. I don’t know that in this country, if a person is mistakenly arrested, money will be paid to bail him. My pain is not the N60,000 I paid, I am crying every day because the police cannot even tell me where my son is till now.”
“Another policeman known as William (also attached to Rumuji Police Station) boasted when I met him that they would kill me the way they killed my son. Surprisingly, it is this same William that was wearing my son’s slippers which I bought for him some time ago. My son was wearing those slippers when he was arrested.”
She called on the Inspector General of Police to prevail on the Rumuji Police Station to tell the world what happened to her son. When contacted, Rivers State Police Command Public Relation Officer, Nnamdi Omoni, said he was not aware of the matter.