Nigerian Police, on Sunday, disclosed that the woman who slapped a policeman 13 times and bit two others in Oyo State has been arrested.
The woman was seen in a video that went viral on social media slapping an ASP, Adeyemi Ogunyemi who is a Divisional Crime Officer at Eruwa Police Division.
The police identified the woman as Kehinde Afolake, a single parent with six children.
Ogunyemi showed an uncommon restraint, as seen in the video enduring 13 slaps, from Afolake.
ASP Ogunyemi had led a team of policemen to enforce the Coronavirus lockdown at Gbolagunte, Okeola area of Eruwa, Ibarapa, Oyo State on May 1, 2020.
Rather than retaliate the humiliation from the woman, Ogunyemi took the assault in his stride and was heard refraining his angry subordinates who attempted to lose him from the woman’s grip to avoid an escalation of the situation.
The Inspector General of Police, IGP Mohammed Adamu, commended ASP Ogunyemi for what he described as uncommon restraint and professionalism in the face of the unprovoked attack.
In a statement by the Force Public Relations Officer, DCP Frank Mba, the IGP said, “the officer, like a lamb being led to the slaughter, did not fight back but rather, maintained absolute calm, patience and decorum even as the woman rough handled him and slapped him severally.”
He explained that the said woman also assaulted two female police officers, identified as Inspr. Ojola Abiola and Inspr. Queen Eguaoje, and bit one of the women during an attempt to bring her to the Police Station for the earlier incident of serious assault on the DCO.
The statement described the Ewura incident as a classic example of unprovoked, unwarranted and unnecessary attacks faced by police officers in the course of performing their legitimate duties.
The IGP, therefore, warned that this trend of attacks on police officers will no longer be tolerated by the Force.
Mba, in the statement, said that since the beginning of the Coronavirus lockdown enforcement duties, 27 police officers had suffered a series of attacks and assaults from members of the public at different times and different locations.
He said many of these police personnel were still in different hospitals receiving treatment from the injuries sustained during such attacks.
He named one of the victims as PC Ngozi Nkem, in Agbor, Delta State who was seriously assaulted when a police team was dispersing a group of persons holding a birthday party in clear disobedience to the social restrictions and distancing orders.
The IGP lamented that apart from the attack on police officers, some members of the public have also engaged in attacks on police assets and facilities.
“For example, two police stations and police quarters were attacked and burnt down in Katsina and Abia States, while 15 police vehicles/motorcycles were also damaged,” the statement added.
He, therefore, directed the Commissioner of Police, Oyo Command to carry out a discreet investigation into the Ewura attack on the police officers and ensure that justice was done.