‘He Beat Me To Stupor, Denied Me Food’: Gombe Police Inspector Recounts Alleged Assault, Detention By ACP From Hospital Bed | Sahara Reporters

He said he was later contacted and informed that the Assistant Commissioner of Police had directed him to return to the Area Command with his belongings.

A Nigerian police Inspector, identified as Musa Ibrahim, has alleged that an Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP), Mr Alex Gwoza, assaulted and detained him for two days at an Area Command in Gombe State, while denying him food and medical attention.

Ibrahim made this known in a video obtained by SaharaReporters while speaking in Hausa from a hospital bed where he was receiving treatment through an intravenous drip.

According to Ibrahim, the incident started after he completed his duty at a police station in Karuwan and travelled to Gombe with a senior officer identified as Superintendent Moses Mimi.

He said he was later contacted and informed that the Assistant Commissioner of Police had directed him to return to the Area Command with his belongings.

Ibrahim said he initially explained that he was in Gombe and would return after coming back, but later travelled back and reported at the Area Command.

He said: “What happened was that we had a base at that station in Karuwan.

“I finished my duty on Sunday. I went to Gombe with him and Superintendent Moses Mimi.

“Then they called me and asked where I was. I told them I was in Gombe.

“They said the AC had instructed me to come, pack my belongings, and return to the Area Command.

“I said, ‘Okay, no problem.’ He said yes. I told him I understood, but I was in Gombe and would come back when I returned.”

Ibrahim said he subsequently contacted the officer in charge of the location where Superintendent Moses Mimi was stationed to find out whether there was any problem.

“He told me everything was fine. Then the AC took the phone from him, from Superintendent,” Ibrahim said.

“He said, ‘Inspector, Inspector, come and answer questions immediately. Come and answer questions immediately.’

“I told him I was in Gombe but would come the following morning when I woke up.”

The Inspector said he eventually returned to the Area Command but was detained without being given an explanation.

“So I returned and went to the Area Command. When I got there, they did not even speak to me,” he said.

“They brought me there, and detained me, but that man did not speak to me.”

Ibrahim said that while in detention, he asked for food but was told that he would not be allowed to eat.

When asked whether he had spent two days in detention before the ACP eventually came to see him, Ibrahim replied, “Yes.”

He explained that the ACP subsequently confronted him over the restraints placed on him and insisted that he would remove them.

“When he finally came to see me today, I was just sitting quietly. I asked about getting food to eat,” he said.

“He insisted that he must remove the rope or restraints from me and get me sacked.

“So he insisted that he would remove the restraints from me.”

Ibrahim stated that the situation subsequently escalated and that he was physically assaulted.

He claimed that the officer denied him food, beat him and ordered that he be taken to a cell.

“Then, from there… He did not speak to me at all. He denied me food, beat me to stupor and eventually said I would be taken to the cell,” he said.

“After I was returned to the cell, then he left. He said I should enter the cell. He slapped me on the neck three times.”

Asked whether the beating started at that point, Ibrahim said he had already begun taking medication because of the injuries and pain he was experiencing.

“I have taken three doses of medicine, but I cannot turn my neck,” he said.

He said his condition deteriorated after he was returned to the cell, prompting him to request medical attention.

“When I entered the cell, I felt that my body could no longer cope. That was when I asked them to take me to the hospital.

“Initially, I had also sent someone to buy medicine for me. Here is the medicine.

“But he did not tell me to go and buy medicine; someone came and bought it.

“I said they should bring me to the hospital in handcuffs. Even if I will die, I should die here in the hospital.”

The Inspector was seen receiving treatment on a hospital bed while recounting the incident.

Efforts by SaharaReporters to reach Gombe State Police Command spokesperson DSP Buhari Abdullahi by phone for comment on the alleged assault were unsuccessful.