Nigeria: Why Police Dismissed Officer Who Exposed Rapist Colleague - Official

4 November 2024

The woman's husband, an officer, has been demoted.

The police in Edo State have explained why they dismissed from service a female inspector who exposed a sergeant who allegedly raped a female suspect in a police facility.

Moses Yamu, the police spokesperson in the state, said the dismissed female inspector, Edith Uduma, allegedly took advantage of the incident to extort the erring officer, Abraham Uzuobo.

Mr Yamu, a superintendent of police, said in a statement on Sunday that Mrs Uduma was the charge room officer on 7 October, the night the rape incident occurred.

The charge room officer is a police personnel whose duty is to document the particulars of suspects brought into a police facility.

"The female officer, instead of reporting the incident to the Divisional Police Officer (DPO) or the Incident Duty Officer as the case may be, for disciplinary actions to be initiated against the erring officer, took advantage of the situation to enrich herself by calling her husband AP No. 228652 Insp. Ibrahim Mohammed, who conspired with her to unlawfully demand the sum of One Million Naira from the Sergeant to assist him conceal the matter," Mr Yamu said in the statement.

The statement said Ms Uduma and her husband, Mr Mohammed, eventually reported the rape incident to the DPO and shared on social media a video clip of the rape incident after the sergeant could give them only N45,000.

"Following these events, an orderly room trial was initiated against all the officers, which led to the dismissal of Sgt. Abraham and Insp Edith Uduma.

"Her husband, Insp Ibrahim Mohammed, however, was reduced to the rank of Sergeant for getting criminally involved in demanding money to conceal such a gross violation of the Standard Operating Procedure of the Nigeria Police," the statement added.

Daily Trust reported that the sexually assaulted suspect is a 17-year-old girl arrested for allegedly receiving stolen property.

The paper said the sergeant, Mr Uzuobo, secretly took the girl out of the cell and to the administrative block, where he allegedly raped her before he was caught pants down by Mrs Uduma.

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