The day began like any other, but it quickly descended into a surreal nightmare that Charles Mbaogu@devcharlezen would not soon forget.
Securitynewsalert.com heard that it started with a routine traffic stop that immediately felt wrong. Before he knew what was happening, officers had commandeered his car, forcing him into the back seat while another officer took the wheel.
His girlfriend, trapped in the passenger seat, grew increasingly terrified as the officers drove recklessly, clearly not on a legitimate mission.
For hours, Charles was held hostage in his own vehicle, driven around while his phone was confiscated.
The panic peaked when one of the officers driving the car suddenly rushed ahead to inform the others of a terrifying development: in a desperate act of self-preservation, his girlfriend had jumped from the moving vehicle to shout for help.
Only then did the officers, seemingly unfazed by the potential tragedy they had caused, decide to turn around and head to the main station.
At the station, the ordeal intensified. For two agonising hours, Charles endured harsh interrogation. They accused him of a complex fraud scheme, hacking his own colleague’s ATM card.
Even when his colleague explained to them over the phone that he had personally sent the card details to Charles to debug a legitimate app development issue, the officers pressed on.
When they finally realised their accusations were baseless, they attempted to sweep the illegal detention under the rug.
They pressured Charles to write a statement declaring that everything was “settled.” He refused.
The interrogating officer then tried to gauge if Charles would report them, asking if they had taken money.
Charles truthfully answered no, but firmly stated they had demanded it, which he had refused to give.
He was then dragged to another office, subjected to a humiliating search for drugs or weapons, finding nothing, and questioned again.
Before finally releasing him, they returned his belongings, but not before disrespecting his position as a youth corper. They had torn his NYSC ID card and thrown away his cap.
When Charles finally reunited with his girlfriend, who had to borrow a stranger’s phone to call him after the police took hers, the physical toll was visible.
She had a bruised leg from jumping out of the car, a desperate act driven by fear of the officers’ reckless behaviour.
His car was equally damaged, scratched, with a repositioned taillight, and making strange, rattling sounds from the roof and tyres.
His girlfriend later explained that the officer driving had been speeding recklessly to catch up with other officers, scratching another car in the process, the very recklessness that had forced her to leap to safety.
For over six hours, Charles had been held, his property damaged, and his dignity stripped away. It was a frightening, humiliating, and traumatic experience born of baseless accusations and abuse of power.
Force spokesman Benjamin Hundeyin promised that the Lagos State Police Command would look into the matter. #securitynewsalert.com
