Professor Zainab Duke Abiola, a human rights activist, has debunked claims by the police that she assaulted her female police orderly, Inspector Teju Moses.
Zainab Duke Abiola who was arrested alongside her housemaid, Rebecca Enechido, on Thursday, September 22, 2022, for allegedly assaulting her orderly for refusing to do some domestic chores she assigned to her has denied claims by the police that she assaulted the officer.
In a statement issued on her behalf by the Afro-European Lawyers League, the professor said it was strange that the Inspector General of Police would forcefully violate “the fundamental Rights and liberties of a distinguished law-abiding citizen and proceed to forcefully take her pictures and maliciously publish same in the print and electronic media in this nascent democratic dispensation.”
The statement reads: “Our attention has been drawn to a fallacious malicious defamatory publication against our respected Alumnus of the National Institute of Policy and Security Studies, NIPPS, Professor Zainab Duke Mni alleging assault on one of her police Orderlies.
“We categorically state that this is NOT true and nothing could be further from the truth. For the records, our respected revered Professor Zainab has never assaulted anybody anywhere at any time. It is not in her character.
“The facts are 1. On the 20th of April 2022, the IGP approved the revalidation and deployment of police orderlies to our leader based on the fact that she is the Chief Legal Consultant to the Nigerian Police and has her office at the Force headquarters, Abuja.
“2. That the police consequently assigned a female police officer who was among the perpetrators of violence against innocent Nigerian Citizens during the ENDSARS imbroglio.
“3. Consequent to the discovery of her orderly’s involvement in police brutality against Nigerians that Professor Zainab rejected the posting of a brutal officer and returned the said orderly back to Force Headquarters to her bosses and told her bye-bye on the 19th of September.
“4. To our surprise around 10 pm, the former orderly returned with a vengeance banging on our gates with some dangerous weapons including a gun threatening to kill everybody in the compound and the police orderly beat up family members of the professor’s household.
“5. That as can be seen in the video a crowd soon gathered and there was street brawling crowd fighting and loss of properties.
“6. That, strangely, the IGP will forcefully, brutally and illegally violate the fundamental Rights and liberties of a distinguished law-abiding citizen and proceed to forcefully take her pictures and maliciously publish same in the print and electronic media in this nascent democratic dispensation.”
It will be recalled that in a video clip that went viral on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, the officer is seen in uniform bleeding, seated on the floor, and asking to be taken to the hospital for medical attention.
Force Public Relations Officer, CSP Muyiwa Adejobi, who confirmed the arrest in a statement on Thursday, said the police were going after a fleeing domestic worker complicit in the assault.