• Victim accuses Anti-Robbery Department operatives of torture, demands justice

A businessman, Ayomide Adekunle, has accused operatives of the Anti-Robbery Department of the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) in Osogbo, Osun State, of brutally assaulting him with a machete and other weapons after illegally arresting him at his business premises.

Adekunle alleged that the second-in-command to the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of the Anti-Robbery Department, identified as Adedokun Yusuf, led the assault and inflicted multiple deep machete cuts on his back.

In an interview with SaharaReporters on Wednesday, Adekunle said the incident occurred on October 31, 2025, around 5:30 p.m., at his lounge in Osogbo.

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How It Began

According to him, trouble started when a customer arrived at his lounge to speak with his manager. A few minutes later, Adekunle noticed the customer engaged in another conversation with two waitresses and a staff member. Concerned about the gathering, he asked what was going on and directed the staff to return to their duties.

“I told him that this is my lounge, and if there’s any issue, it should be handled by the manager. I told the staff to go upstairs,” Adekunle recalled.

He said the customer appeared embarrassed and threatened to “embarrass him back.” Moments later, the man went outside and began making phone calls.

“About 15 to 20 minutes later, some men arrived in a car that wasn’t a police vehicle. One wore a bulletproof vest; others were in plain clothes. The customer pointed at me and said, ‘That’s him,’” he said.

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Dragged, Beaten, and Taken to the Station

Adekunle said the men ordered him to sit on the floor inside his lounge, but he refused, asking to know his offence.

“I told them, ‘You can’t ask me to sit on the floor in my own lounge. If you want to arrest me, take me to the station,’” he said.

He alleged that the men dragged him outside, punched him, and forced him into their vehicle before taking him to the Anti-Robbery Department at the State CID, where the officers began assaulting him.

“When we got there, they told me to remove my clothes. Before I could ask what I had done, they brought out a cutlass and started beating me. They also used sticks and batons,” Adekunle said.

He recounted that one of the officers — later identified as Adedokun Yusuf — announced that he would receive 15 strokes of the machete.

“He said if I didn’t agree, they wouldn’t start counting. When I agreed, they started afresh and gave me all fifteen strokes,” he said, adding that the repeated cuts left his back “severely lacerated and bleeding.”

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‘They Forced Me to Write a Statement’

Adekunle said his clothes were seized, and despite his injuries, the officers forced him to give a statement.

“I couldn’t write, so a female officer took my statement while I dictated. My hands were swollen from the beating,” he said.

He said the officers claimed the customer who orchestrated his arrest was a cultist, but he insisted he did not know the man personally.

“They told me the man was a cultist. I said I didn’t know him — he’s just a customer,” he said.

Adekunle was eventually released later that night after the Police Public Relations Officer (PRO) intervened.

“My friends called the Police PRO. He contacted the officer in charge and ordered my release immediately,” he said.

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Injuries and Aftermath

Adekunle said his back and hands were swollen and that he struggled to sleep due to the pain.

“My doctor treated me that same day, but by the next morning, the wounds were worse than I thought,” he recounted.

He said when he met the Police PRO again on Monday, he showed him the injuries.

“The PRO told me to open my back. He was shocked when he saw the wounds,” Adekunle said, adding that the PRO instructed him to report the matter formally at the Anti-Robbery Department.

However, when he returned to the department, Adekunle alleged that the same officer who brutalised him tried to downplay the case.

“The OC’s deputy, Yusuf, told me to wait where they beat me. After about 20 minutes, he came back and said, ‘You can go now, there’s nothing,’” he claimed.

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‘Police Trying to Cover Up’

Adekunle expressed fears that the police might attempt to cover up the assault.

“Maybe they’re trying to protect their colleague. But they brutalised me without any reason, and now they’re trying to cover it up,” he lamented.

He called on the Inspector-General of Police, Kayode Egbetokun, the Osun State Commissioner of Police, and Governor Ademola Adeleke to intervene and ensure justice is served.

“The officer who assaulted me must face the law. He’s not fit to wear a police uniform,” Adekunle said. “Some officers now act like terrorists in a state governed by law. This must stop.”

Adekunle urged authorities to investigate the incident thoroughly and bring those responsible to justice, describing the use of a machete on a suspect as “an act of attempted murder.”