Man loses teeth to police brutality, demands justice

A middle-aged man, Mr. Efe Derek, has cried for justice, following an assault he received from policemen attached to the owner of a popular Club House in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

Derek, who is recuperating from the injuries he sustained in the attack, said he lost two of his teeth, which led him to coma.

The victim, a  resident of  Road 5, Agip Estate, Mile 4, Port Harcourt, claimed that he and other residents merely demanded that the Road 5 gate in Agip Estate, which is an access to residents of the area, should be opened and not be locked permanently.

Derek, who spoke on his hospital bed, on Tuesday, at about 3:50pm, said he and some residents went to the gate of Road 5 and demanded that it should be opened.

He said they were tired of taking alternative routes instead of the gate, which was approved by the Rivers State Government. The victim disclosed that the moment they got to the gate, the police officers attached to the owner of the club allegedly started shooting in the air, as they scampered for safety, but he was unlucky and was arrested.

Derek alleged that the armed policemen bounced on him and used the butt of their guns to hit him  before taking him to the Police Station on Agip Road, where one of the officers, again, hit him with the butt of his gun. He further explained that he lost consciousness and later found himself in the hospital, where he is gradually regaining consciousness.

He said the owner of the Club House, who supervised the assault by police officers attached to him, boasted that no authority could order him to open the gate for residents.